I really hate how ads have taken over the internet. On one hand, I know that hosting a website costs money, right? And ad revenue is one of the simplest ways for free-to-use websites to cover their operating costs.

My question is-- and I would genuinely love an answer-- is this ever going to stop? Tumblr ran for a long time without ads. So did Youtube. I know that the cost of hosting so much media has gone up, but there are a lot of users on these websites that make the content that drives people to use the service that don't see any of the money generated by this revenue. On Youtube, there's at least a way for creators to make some money from what they do. For most, it isn't much, but the opportunity is there. On Tumblr, well... the ability to convert the visibility of my blog into any financial gain practically nonexistent, though they did at one point promise that users would be able to make money from ads run on their blogs (whatever happened to that, Staff?).

"You can pay to avoid seeing ads!" Tumblr says, as if the views on my main blog alone over the past few years have not generated more than enough ad revenue to cover the price they're asking me to pay, the person who is actively making content that brings eyes to their ads.

I'm not mad at Tumblr for hosting ads. I get that it has to happen because it's the easiest way to keep the site free, and honestly, I imagine Tumblr's staunch opposition to monetization has been a real obstacle for the team building Tumblr. But at the same time, it feels like yet another small concession in the usability of the site. I'm tired of ads that auto-play with blaring audio while I'm scrolling. I'm tired of adds that, if I touch them while trying to scroll past them, take me to an external site. Outside of tumblr, I'm tired of looking for information online only to get a webpage that's 95% ads and otherwise illegible. Hell, I recently got an ad on Discord. Was it unobtrusive? Maybe. But it was there, for the first time, and I know that won't be the end.

I know the first reply I'm going to get on this is "use adblock", and yes, that's a solution, but think about how much the landscape for media has changed in just ten years.

Popular forums are basically gone outside of reddit.

Youtube, without Red, is ad hell. You can't watch more than 3-4 minutes of video without getting sent to marketing hell.

Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter-- it's terrible. I firmly believe they've manufactured a worse experience through the implementation of ads to convince you to buy into their premium services.

Just Check out this video of Penguinz0 trying to watch a video on a third-party site.

There's discussion of putting ads into video games.

Remember when games didn't include micro-transactions? Blizzard is charging $70 for one mythic skin. You could almost buy Overwatch 1 twice-over at that price-point.

Influencers make a living by making their lives into advertisements.

Youtube has retaliated against users using ad-block on non-chrome browsers by artificially inflating the load times of it's videos.

What can we do about this? I imagine companies see it as an infinite money hack; users can't stop companies from hosting ads, and the action they could take to voice their displeasure-- leaving the site, using other competitive services-- has been all but obliterated thanks to the homogeneity of popular social media outlets. If someone is truly so incensed about ads, well-- it isn't like they have to engage with them, right? They can enroll in a cheap, auto-renewing service to get rid of ads entirely. Well, wait, the price of premium might just have to go up. Don't worry, it's auto-renewing! You won't even notice it. Oh, no, it's got to go up again, you won't even notice it.

There's no incentive for them to cap this behavior, and no way for us as users to pressure them to do so. We create these spaces; we fill them with color, art, activism, community, and the companies that ride on the tailcoat of the spaces we create tell us to give them more. What comes next?

"You need to put in as much effort as humanly possible" I AM. IT JUST ISNT "AS MUCH EFFORT" AS YOU BECAUSE IM DISABLED. SHUT UP.

So I just binged Maxton hall and as a certified opinionated person- I have opinions. First let me start off by saying; this series is reminiscent of 2000s elite school tv. And I'm here to eat that shit up. But what this show does better than those series is this:

Each character is multilayered. Who starts off as the alleged mean girl (Lydia) is smart, intelligent, calm and quiet and understands the nuances of the relationships around her. James is a huge red flag but his red flag is his possessiveness and aggression. He has been nothing but a sweetheart to the people he lives and cares for which makes it easy to sympathise with him.

It does the studious girl trope really well. It doesn't go the "I'm not like other girls" route. In fact, most students have been very supportive and uplifting of each other. The hate we are toward Ruby is class difference rather than a gendered one.

And our previous Ruby Bell is a likeable character. She is strong. Opinionated. Doesn't back down from a challenge. And she knows what she wants and she goes for it. Not once have her priorities taken a backseat when she finds love. Which is such a cool thing to see. I was so scared she'd be another Elena Gilbert- helpless, self absorbed and what not. But she's actually caring and has self respect. Which is mwah.

Then we have our very own loser of the year, James Beaufort. He's protective of his people. But he definitely has some red flags he needs to work on. But he acknowledges when he's wrong. And we like that because a lot of red flags in series don't. Plus he's such a simp for Ruby Bell and we love to see it. Bro isn't ashamed to transfer quails and catch them AND make his friends work as well if his lady needs it.

Lastly if I had a nickel for every strawberry blonde character named Lydia who seems like the mean girl but is sweet smart and caring and VERY VERY intelligent; I would have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice. (I'm looking at you Lydia Martin)

My favourite new look is James Beaufort in love. Bro looks like a puppy and I'm here for it. We need more loser men honestly.

alright my turn to talk (fhjy ep 19 spoilers!!)

y’all cannot expect the bad kids who have been nothing but hostile to the rat grinders for VALID!!! REASONS!!! to not try to kill them

this whole season the butt crushers have done nothing but fuck over the bad kids at every turn and yes apparently it was jarring to hear them shout at the ass fuckers the whole time but actually no it wasnt??? this fucking season is about rage the bad kids are now at the center of it all, figs blood was turned into the crystals, of course they’re gonna be madder than normal

but even without it these are teenagers who have been working their asses off the whole year the only thing getting in their way was the butt fuckers kristen was almost expelled because of them they all had to fight in an arena with a 99.9 percent chance of tpk if it were me i’d be fucking pissed at them too

people that spam “stan bambi” on any snape related post they can find are so confusing to me.. like why do you think your relevant?🙏⁉️

Why do you feel the need to go out of your way to comment that on a post that very clearly has nothing to do with you. you are not the target audience, that video was not made to catch your attention. no one cares that you favor james or not so there is no need to announce it in each snape related comment section..

you are not relevant. you are irrelevant.

you’re not cool or wtv for liking to start arguments with random people you’re an edge lord…

i don’t understand why people truly think they matter enough to random strangers on the internet to go and comment that…..😟

this goes for anyone that comments werid shit on a character (unless it’s someone fangirling over a REAL LIFE serial killer or the character has done something like really really bad like unbridge)

Bridgerton S3 spoilers!!

--

Not Lord Debling spending a whole dance telling Penelope "I might never love you cuz I'll be away all the time so this works out for us" but then finding out Penelope could have feelings for her childhood friend whom she has known longer than she's known him is now a problem. Like SIR. You can't say "Romance is not an important/necessary factor in a marriage for me" and then turn around and say "But also you cannot have romantic feelings for the rest of your life while we're married, I'm possessive" like. pick a lane.

Why are you offended that she has feelings? She told you she likes romance. You guys just spent your courtship saying you'd be fine with never feeling that way with one another cuz it's practical and convenient for both of your lifestyles. You even had a whole convo where maybe you could have feelings for each other later but that's not like, even a factor you really want or care about going INTO a marriage I'm just so confused.

Like, I get that they needed a reason to not have them get together but you can't build up over several episodes that love/feelings was not important to him and then make it his deal breaker!! It would make sense if he was offended if he actually did have affection for her in that way and is jealous but he was like nah we compatible cuz we both have hobbies to fill our time, separately.

I have one complaint: Focus more on them. I'm sorry, but i didn't care at all for the other side-plots, like...honestly, i just don't give a flying... They were giving everything: chemistry, hotness, sweetness, complicity and intimacy, real one and mofos kept focusing on side-plots. Learn, Bridgerton, learn!!!

So. Basingstoke Comic Con.

This is going to be a rant. I'm German, so I have a PhD in a) complaining and b) being blunt. Perfect combination for this post. It's going to be long, so buckle up.

I give explicit permission to repost, reblog, screenshot and post to other websites, comment, tag, and add to this in any way you see fit. Feel free to write your own experiences and criticism.

It's a modified version of the feedback email I sent them. Since then, they have put out a statement which directly contradicts some of the stuff other people have told us (and have evidence for) and which blames everyone from attendees to guests to staff to the weather.

First of all, despite all the mess with the actual con, I had a ton of fun. I hadn't seen some of these people in 20 years. I hadn't met some of y'all before, and I talked to so many people this weekend. I don't regret a single meeting, hug, smile, or laugh. I do wish however for the organizers to step on legos for the rest of their lives.

Frankly, they had a huge business opportunity and they blew it. They could have established themselves as THE Stargate convention in Europe. People were taking 15-hour flights to be there. We were willing to spend hundreds, in some cases thousands of pounds. With that lineup, they blew every other current convention out of the water. If they had done this right, this would have been a huge success and an absolute no-brainer for years to come. They could have been one of those cons that sell out in minutes. 

Instead, they let greed and poor organization guide them. They severely underestimated the size of the Stargate fandom. They didn't bother to learn about what the fans wanted and who the guests actually were.

A few things stood out for me:

Health and safety at the venue. No a/c, running heaters (!!) in some rooms, not enough opportunities to get water, way too many people for this size hotel. We are lucky there wasn't a panic or more severe injuries. Crowd control was non existent.

An impossible, ever-changing schedule. You can't put talks back to back, or meet&greets, or photo ops. Everybody knows you will run overtime and then the whole thing collapses. Changes were not communicated. Nobody knew what was going on.

Poorly trained staff. No staff meetings beforehand. Staff had no way to communicate with each other. Seriously, give them radios! Some of them didn't now the names of the guests or in which autograph group they were.

People could not get the things they paid for. Out of all the autographs included in my pass, I only got one, and only because a friend got it for me. [Marion, you're a fucking rockstar] I don't even want to know how many people will be attempting chargebacks on their credit cards in the coming days.

And the most important thing, the one that makes everyone I talked to the angriest: The way they treated the guests was appalling. They are such generous, hard-working people, and BCC shamelessly took advantage of that. Richard Dean Anderson was signing until after 1 am. A 74-year-old man who just wants to make his fans happy.

[BCC are now saying they were told he was a „slow signer“, aka someone who actually takes their time by talking to fans when signing autographs. Oh really? Then why did you continue to sell autographs well into Sunday when it was clear that there was no way he could get through them all in a reasonable time??]

David Blue was setting up his own autograph table. Several Atlantis actors went and got more of their headshots (by taking pictures in the photo room and printing them) because they ran out. Joe Flanigan tried to bring some order to the chaos more than once. He went full John Sheppard in the photo op room and took charge. We are lucky they're such sweet souls and didn't raise hell then and there. Nobody would have blamed them.

Staff were amazing and tried to make the best with what little support they were given. Kathleen, Finn and Nick (with the Stick!) especially, and so many others whose names I sadly didn't get. They worked so hard, never lost their humor, and tried to help as much as they could.

This disaster is entirely on management. It's a failure of leadership and an example of what not to do when you're running an event.

If you want to put on a convention, you need to go to people who have experience and listen to them. You need to attend several cons before even thinking about doing one yourself. And before, during and after, you need to take care of your people. You need to take care of your staff, of your guests, of the fans. You need to adjust the size of the event to the size of the venue, or vice versa. You need to actually be interested in this event beyond the money it will earn you. You need to know when you bit off more than you can chew.

I'm not hoping for a better one next year, because all of us said we won't be back. What I do hope is that hey sincerely apologize to the guests and at least double what money was raised for charity.

A small rant on a user called @finnandfillmore21 .

Disclaimer before I start, do NOT attack this person, Im just saying this for them to know that this is not okay what they have done. And im not trying to attack this person nor dox them.

And this is for all my besties, Sisters, Brothers, pen pals, my two girlfriends And my boyfriend to know:

@splashy900 @kxllboii @cheezekennith @aquamarine-dream-queen @dayzsaclark @oscarandgrinchfan @moshywoosh @ilovescaredysquirrel2 @nuggetaubrey @sharkyy599 @nightkit92 @familyoffood @mysafespaceblog13 @thelazzyblogzz @sugar-miss1 @shrimpathizer @shypeachrunaway @iggyguyy @sophia-does-skits @typical-sophie @peaceforpeople @ben5569 @itsmyaltaccountforshiitybloglol0 @ducktoonz903707 @artismeyou-12 @blackstar044 @acen402 @diego-r-the-artist-2009 @nia1sworld @rumplestiltsbear @s4gefr0g @muppet-fan-real @beeware-of-lulu @leafith @bluebird-in-a-cagedrawing @muppet-fan-frr @thegroovyskull @blo0st4r And red the demon King on discord.

And I Got inspired by @fabianvalencia561 to make this post.

Okay, so... This person would spam requests, likes And comments on nearly everyone's tumblr, especially if theyre the part of Thomas the tank engine Fandom And willys wonderland Fandom. And I was one of their targets since I was still into willys wonderland Fandom from summer 2022, to june of 2023.

And bro, this person used to request me stuff on february And march of 2023, mostly willys wonderland stuff. And it would sometimes get on my nerves, And they would whine And put crying emojis if I told them that my requests are closed or when I tell them to stop spamming me: "are you done yet?" And they literally whine like a little Baby for the requests. And they put my arts of willys wonderland requests they asked me on their profile from my first And old deactivated account called "cathy61528" And I Got Mad because they put my Art there without my permission. Heres proof:

And they put other artists' arts on their profile without their permission.

And look, Y'all dont have to ask me for my permission when y'all wanna draw the moopets, whatnots, teppums, parodies And even class of 4000 And more OCs of mine from the muppets or class of 3000, but this person literally screenshoted my Art And post it on their profile without my fucking permission.

And for the requests again, they would sometimes force me to draw their requests like either later or tonight, And when I would tell them that my requests are closed, they start whining And telling me: "please just for me 🥺" LIKE NO, NO MEANS NO, STOP MEANS STOP. And I have my own arts And AU's to do but they would constantly ask me "did you made it?" And that Type of bullshit.

And they would even ask other Artists that are part of Thomas the tank engine community to draw some stuff involving Thomas and Gordon, And it would sometimes get on other artists' nerves.

And also, @finnandfillmore21 ? If you're seeing this... Please listen to my advice I told you yesterday, I dont want you to do the same stuff I did when I was still good with my blue haired aunt, such as demanding requests. And it can sometimes make others block you or hate you. And im not trying to make others hate you after this post, its just that you shouldnt pressure People a Lot.

Thanks y'all for listening 💛🧡

WHAT THE FUCK. Motherfuckers fapping to helpless puppies getting soldomized!

What is this shit? Don't get pressed over someone saying "trans child groomers" when theres THIS SHIT THAT IS SO EASY TO FIND?!?

These people need to find a sturdy beam and a strong rope holy shit holy shit, literally kill yourself.

Not everything has to be valid

Get off the internet

You know what I hate? When an artist gets, let’s say, bigger some moment or their career and all of those „real fans” gather and spew all this nonsense about „fake fans” and how you can’t enjoy the artist or the art because you haven’t been into them for a long time.

It happened with Taylor Swift and people being mad that sb doesn’t know her whole fucking discography so they don’t know the surprise songs. Which, to me is ridiculous - take a chill pill and sit down for a second sir, she’s got hundreds of songs, it’s natural to not know them.

Plus now I see it happening with Joost Klein and I’m like??? Isn’t it the point of Eurovision???? To get to know new international artists????

Like excuse me for not having known more than 2 songs before he went and got super known?? He doesn’t even sing in English so???? I do not have the responsibility to be THE BEST FAN, in fact, nobody fucking does!

Let people like things in a moderate, everyday way. Let people discover new artists and enjoy their work for fuck’s sake!

Somedays it is a blessing to be stuck in a traffic. You do just want to stay in the middle and let the time pass you by.

Why do I keep seeing killermare / Nightkiller on my Pinterest

PINTREST STOP RIGHT NEOW I ZONT LIKE KILLERMARE STOP GOVINF ME THOSE PINS PLEASE ALL I WANT IF FUN FANART OF THINGS I LIKE PLEASE STOP NEOWOWWWWWWWSWEEW

It’s okay if it’s amazingly crack or just a rep of the (canon)relationship

BUT I DONT WANT 2 SEE SERIOUS FANART OF KILLERMARE KISSING AAHHHHH

(This isint a totally serious post I’ll just ignore killermare FANART LOLLL)

HOLY FUCKING FUCK

Okay, this is a rant (completely trivial and is utterly unimportant)... ATEEZ just released some more teasers and I was looking on Instagram and saw this (got it from X/Twitter [i cropped the solos out since they didn't release them])...

...and I was looking over them, like, "okay, got it," and of course my eye goes to the bottom right since Jongho is my bias and I was like... ExCuSe Me (but first lets look over everyone else...)

Hongjoong is Captaining, as he does. This is a casual pose and it suits him well, not anything revolutionary (still amazing)...

Okay, once again, what we're used to. Seonghwa is absolute visual perfection as always, has perfect form and posture. Devastatingly gorgeous, right, but...we're used to that.

Yunho looks massive as always. Because he is. His is honestly a bit more cute than the first two, he's giving puppy for sure and I just love the hat.

We're ramping it up a bit here with a Yeosang. Gorgeous, stunning, marvelous, etc. His pose has the energy of Hongjoong and Seonghwa's put together. I love the turtle neck, honestly that one piece of clothing gets me more often than any lack of clothing... (i just realized he has two belts on btw)

San, fucking... God, he is really hot, that's really all I can say. His shirt could be a bit more open, but he is sitting with Confidence. Its sexy, of course, its just a shame you can't really see how Wide™ he is...

Mingi, love him to pieces, but his made me giggle. Its hard for me sometimes to take him seriously as Sexy or Cool, just because is so soft and sweet and >3<... but! His outfit is amazing: unbuttoned, undone bow tie, and he also looks Massive™...

He looks so much smaller than Mingi and Yunho is that chair (lol). There is something about him in this comeback that is GETTING me so much. I love when they wear the tie without the shirt to go with it. Also I think there is some weird cutout in the blazer...

And now, we have come to the whole reason I am making this post...

Choi FUCKING Jongho

There is ABSOLUTELY no need for this. He always sits like he not only owns the whole room, building and city block, but everyone in said room. This man is Dominant™, he is the daddy-kink incarnate and (to me) THE DILF. He is so fucking hot, like what the fuck. Why is this so sexy, like why? He is my bias, so maybe I am...biased (lol). But, this is just so good. As time passes the DILF-ier he gets and I am all for it.

If I still had a uterus (thanks Endometriosis) I would be pregnant because of this picture... This man is going to be the end of me and my ovaries.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

i know the second half will focus on whistledown and colin’s writing but i expected more soft moments. moments where he battles with himself bc that’s penelope - that’s pen - his childhood friend, the girl who lived across the street, his sister’s once best friend, his good friend. moments where he tries to test out if he actually does like her or if he’s simply afraid to lose her companionship. where he has her examine his healing hand to see if her touch still affects him. where he dances with her and for a moment he holds her a little closer and wonders if he imagines her eyes darting to look at his mouth. where he writes and writes and writes bc he’s good with words but she has made a mess of him. moments where he reads Emma and throws it across the room bc what utter nonsense “if i loved you less i might be able to talk about it more” - if you love someone one must declare it assuredly, reverently, and loudly. moments where he recognizes he’s always looked at her with this gentle fondness, always needed her reassurance and kind words, and the idea she will give them to another hurts. i wanted moments where he finds himself stopping to rationalize his actions until one moment in the middle of an argument it all just spills out of him like a dropped ink well. i wanted her hesitancy and fear and anger and disdain. i wanted her to cut him at his knees as he had done to her knowingly and unknowingly throughout the years. the denial of loving him, the fear that he is brash and impulsive like he was with marina, the self-preservation of running away. i wanted the push and pull of colin not knowing if he should risk losing their friendship if she does not feel the same yet feeling he will lose her either way - either to lord debling or to his own obliviousness. i wanted the moment he realizes he needs her in his life and he does not want to regret letting his final opportunity slip away. the quiet yearning of having no guarantees but so many hopes. the sadness of thinking you realized you found your person just as they rip you out of their heart. the pain of losing someone you didn’t know you had until they left and took your heart with them.

in regards to this post (semi rant-y stuff incoming; tw for mentions of abuse, abuse not specified)

i’m so not joking when i say the bad kids deserve to do everything they are doing to the rat grinders. like, they were tormented the entirety of their most stressful year bc the leader of this group of kids they never even interacted with before was jealous of the trauma they endured.

in my time at high school i had to deal with people like the rat grinders. someone who was jealous of the fact that my life was “harder” than theirs and they took it out on me. i tried my best not to engage when they got petty, and even to help them bc they were indeed going through things, but they refused bc they would rather wallow than accept any advice or help from me. they even took steps to enable my abuser and claim our traumas bc of that as linked. they also tormented my friends the entirety of our time at high school, even after we had cut ties with them.

and remember the bad kids are (mostly) 16! you think you, oh great and objective moral compass holder that you are, would have not gone absolutely apeshit on your high school bullies if you were given a free pass at 16? or even, as this situation is more like, the people who made your friends lives a living hell? ivy got the insult she said to mazey thrown back at her, and ruben got sent to the tamest version of hell ever (he’s a roadie instead of a musician forever). and actually, the bad kids gave them multiple chances to switch sides and they didn’t bc they’re beyond redemption in their current state. for a person to redeem themselves they have to want redemption.

sure, from a narrative standpoint it’s disappointing if you look at it totally detached from the pov of the series. but this is the bad kids’ story. it’s the logical conclusion to the arc of the season AND if the rat grinders were one dimensional they wouldn’t be formidable foes and good foils to our heroes, they would be combat cronies that could’ve been done away with in the first few episodes.