So, what is the OGL and why are DnD creators thoroughly screwed?

Tumblr has not been doing a great job at talking about this, but:

With OneDnD, Wizards of the Coast has decided to update the Open Game License (OGL). Said license is what allowed people to create homebrew DnD content and sell it, and even larger companies to use certain sorts of content. Pathfinder, for example, is built on said OGL. This also allows streamers and artists to exist and benefit from said content.

With OneDnD (sometimes called “dnd 6e”), WOTC wants to create a much more restrictive OGL, which will, amongst other things:

It’s important to note that OGLs are supposedly irrevocable. They were planning to use it for OneDnD initially, but they want to apply it retroactively to 5e, somehow. Which is illegal, but lawyers have mentioned there’s a chance they may get away with it given the wording.

This means that anything you make based on DnD (A homebrew item? A character drawing? Even music, according to them?), can get taken and used as they deem appropiate.

These news come from a leak of the OGL, which have been confirmed by multiple reputable sources (including Kickstarter, which has confirmed that WOTC already talked with them about this), and was planned to be released next week.

Speak against it. Share the word. Reblog this post. Let people know. Tumblr hasn’t been talking much about this matter, but it’s VERY important to let people know about what is WOTC bringing. 

Boycott them. Do not buy their products. Do not buy games with their IP. Do not watch their movie. CANCEL your DnD Beyond subscription. (Btw, they ARE planning to release more subscription services too!). They do not care about the community, but they care about the money. Make sure to speak through it. 

And maybe consider other TTRPG systems for the time being, Pathfinder’s Paizo has been much nicer to the community, their workers are unionized and are far more healthy overall

It’s that retroactive thing that really fucks people over. The original OGL is the basis for huge amounts of the last 20+ years of tabletop RPGs, including Pathfinder 1e, Mutants and Masterminds, and the entire OSR movement. If Hasbro tries to shut down older offshoots, a lot of independent producers and small companies won’t have the resources to fight them, and bigger companies (like Paizo and Green Ronin) might spend years tied up in the courts.

so funny how for a brief time we managed to get perfect alignment for extensions between browsers, webextensions from chrome to firefox to safari, and then google decided "nope, we're going to enforce some new rules now, time to choose us as your only platform or put in extra work" and now you can't even publish the same extension on every chromium fork.

reminder that it's in your best interest to stop using Chrome before January 2023, or you're going to lose extension data.

reposting because the other reblog was made by a terf

https://www.theverge.com/2022/6/10/23131029/mozilla-ad-blocking-firefox-google-chrome-privacy-manifest-v3-web-request

TLDR:

Chrome extentions will break in an effort by google to disable adblockers. switch to Firefox now pls:

https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

I finally downloaded Firefox because of this post.

I’ve been using firefox for years. Before that, every scrap of malware I ever got was served up by a malicious ad.

If adblockers are disabled, Chrome will be actively dangerous to use.

COLD WEATHER TIPS FROM SOMEONE WHO LIVES WHERE IT’S COLD:

I always see posts about layering clothing, but there are so many more creative ways to help keep you warm if you don’t have a lot of warm clothes. But first, a note on layering clothing:

-Your underlayer is your WICKING layer. That means it is a layer specifically to absorb the moisture your body produces. DO NOT USE COTTON AS A BOTTOM LAYER. Use merino wool if possible, but other good substitutions are nylon, polyester and rayon. 

-Your middle layer is for insulation. You want AIR POCKETS in there, NOT tight fitting clothes. This is where you want to put your fluffy sweaters, your fleece, down, fur, flannel, or vests. If you do not have these, you can substitute with multiple layers of long sleeve shirts.

-Your outer layer is for keeping the cold away from your body. If you do not have a jacket, you can put on your thickest piece of clothing and then a raincoat over it. Windbreaker if you have one. 

ALSO

-Jeans are the absolute worst at holding heat. Use only as a last resort. 

-You can’t really ever have too many layers on your feet. Alternate tucking your layers of pants into your layers of socks to keep your ankles warm!

-Wear a hat OVER a hood if it will fit! This will keep your ears warmest.

TAKE OFF/OUT ANY AND ALL JEWELERY/PIERCINGS

-If you have a medical bracelet, DO NOT REMOVE IT. If you can, tuck a layer of clothes between it and your skin.

NON-CLOTHING TIPS:

-Raid your recycling. Gather all cardboard boxes and break them down so that they are flat. Put them on the floor to add more layers between you and the cooling house. Newspaper will also serve the same purpose.

-In an emergency, you can also layer newspaper between clothing layers. Don’t worry about looking stupid if you’re staying warm.

-If you have a tent, set that sucker up in whatever room you have decided to stay in. Stay in it and keep it zipped shut as much as you can, but do NOT cover the vent at the top. You can put the rain fly up, but make sure there is circulating air for you to breathe.

-You are probably not going to feel very hungry at times. DO NOT STOP EATING OR DRINKING. Digestion produces a lot of body heat and the food will give your body energy to keep itself going.

-The best foods are heavy and full of carbs and proteins. Eat nuts, eggs, pasta, meats, and beans. If you are on a diet, now you’re not. If you’re vegetarian… bulk up on those pastas and nuts.

-Try not to sweat. If you are finding yourself getting damp, take off the outer layer just until you start to cool slightly. Then redress! Your bottom layer should dry quickly, and being wet is dangerous.

-On that note, STAY ACTIVE. You are probably going to want to hunker down and snuggle up, but that will make your muscles cramp. Every 15-20 minutes do something that gets you up and about. Walk circles in the room, do a couple jumping jacks, stretch, whatever. Just enough to move some blood around your body. Don’t get sweaty or out of breath, it’s just a little movement.

-CHAPSTICK. ON YOUR LIPS. ON YOUR NOSE. ON YOUR EARS. ON YOUR KNUCKLES. Don’t let your extremities get dry or cracked.

SIGNS OF HYPOTHERMIA:

-Uncontrollable shivering -Slurred speech -Confusion or memory loss -Dizziness or lack of coordination -Inability to be woken from sleep

CHILDREN AND INFANTS!!!! I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH.

-Children WILL get colder before you. Make sure they are properly bundled up.

-If you need to breastfeed, put a blanket over the both of you and wait a few minutes for the air to warm before removing or shifting your clothing.

-DO NOT COVER AN INFANTS FACE. ESPECIALLY WHEN SLEEPING. Keep them tucked inside your own clothes when possible. As close to your heart and stomach as possible. 

-Put chapstick on children’s cheeks and clean their face often if they are crying or wiping at their nose. This will prevent cracked skin and irritation.

-Make sure your children are staying as hydrated as you! They are going to fuss and not want to drink cold things, but they NEED liquids.

SIGNS OF HYPOTHERMIA IN INFANTS AND TODDLERS ARE DIFFERENT:

-Shortness of breath  -Cold, red skin -Lethargy or listlessness

Finally:

CHECK ON YOUR NEIGHBORS. CHECK ON CHILDREN. CHECK ON THE ELDERLY. STAY SNUGGLED. STAY SAFE.

Hey guys, I am boosting this again for winter 2022/23 with Texas and New England in mind. If you haven’t heard, the energy companies for these areas in particular have expressed that they may need to conduct rolling blackouts throughout the winter due to energy shortages. We are also expected to have a very cold winter.

It’s important to get your chimneys inspected if you have a wood stove/fireplace/ect to make sure they are clean and safe. Store wood an appropriate distance from the heat source.

If your power is out and therefor the water as well, and you HAVE to flush that toilet, you can take the top off the tank and pour some in before each flush. DO NOT waste your drinking water on this. Use a bucket of water from a pond or run the bath and fill up a bucket beforehand. Do not use pool water. I haven’t looked into what chlorine would do to a septic tank/public water supply but I assume it’s nothing good.

If you have questions about the blackouts, I suggest calling your energy provider (I need to do this too) to see if they have more information or a schedule of when they might need to start implementing shut downs.

Buckle up and bundle up, everyone. Be safe 💜

Wear a layer under your jeans. Denim, when it gets cold, doesn’t keep that cold away from your body. The old mountaineer’s saying is “Denim kills”, because so many people lost in the mountains are found dead from exposure when wearing only one layer and that layer being only cotton denim when the temperature dropped below freezing all night, especially when it is wet. as OP said, wear layers. Wool is the best because even if it is wet it retains the ability to keep heat in the body. Wear a hat – a lot of heat escapes through the head – and if you can manage it, gloves as well as socks.  If you knit, you can make your own; if you know someone who knits, see if they’ll knit for you, swap skills so you make your fantastic soup and you get gloves and/or socks.  Fingerless mitts are also surprisingly warm.

Do all you can to stay dry – it is much harder to get yourself back to warm if your clothes have gotten wet.

Signal boost.

Nintendo really did just say your preorder bonus is lose change

Some of you fanfic authors will casually drop the most gut-wrenchingly in-character reactions and dialog and then just breeze past it like I didn't have to stop reading for a moment to clutch at my own chest smh

There is a tiny OCD part of my head that just realized that the herbs in my window boxes are arranged parsley, thyme, rosemary and sage, and wants the world to end.

Are you going to Scarborough fair

Parsley thyme rosemary and sage

Remember me to one who lives there

His window boxes have filled him with rage

This meme is a MURDER ATTEMPT.

I am absolutely fucking serious. The original meme, without the big red denial, is someone's attempt to fucking kill people.

There is NO SAFE DOSAGE of pennyroyal oil. Even Mother Earth News says there's no reason to use pennyroyal essential oil for ANYTHING, even topically or as a fragrance, for fuckssake! That should give you some idea about how dangerous it is!

Pennyroyal tea, plant matter in hot water, is a traditional abortifacient. It is *incredibly* dangerous, induces abortion by bringing the body close to organ failure (and frequently pushing the system right over the edge, because dosage is impossible to meter), but I would drink a gallon of it before I took a half-teaspoon of pennyroyal essential oil.

Two teaspoons, taken across 48 hours, has successfully killed someone.

Three teaspoons taken as a single dosage killed the consumer within THREE HOURS.

There is NO SAFE DOSAGE! FOR PENNYROYAL OIL INTERNALLY! NONE!

The person who made this meme is PURPOSEFULLY, ACTIVELY, trying to get desperate people killed!

Pennyroyal oil contains pulegone, which is highly toxic, particularly to the liver. Ingestion can lead initially to gastrointestinal distress such as nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Later on, it can lead to failure of the liver and kidneys, resulting in bleeding, seizures, multiple organ failure, and death.

There is no antidote for pennyroyal oil poisoning.

- straight from poison control

In the hope that this saves someone’s life one day.

want to spread a resource: https://www.darkpattern.games/

dark pattern has articles on gameplay patterns that are used to manipulate how you play a game and/or how much money you spend on it.

there are also lists for games breaking down what patterns they feature/dont feature

check it out, make sure your friends arent falling into a pit of gambling and despair.

https://www.darkpattern.games/

Heres your reminder to use literally anything but chrome

And here's your reminder that Firefox actively works to protect your privacy and prevent tracking.

Firefox also has “Facebook fence” which is used to contain Facebook into isolated tabs that prevent tracking as you browse, since so many sites have social media plugins/ads that help collect data for Facebook and other apps.

You can tell Firefox to fence in Facebook in the browser preferences. Also a good time to change your search engine to DuckDuckGo and leave Google search behind (or only use it with another browser that’s separate from daily use).

The EFF (OP of the tweet) has various types of privacy tools that they’ve created. Some are browser plugins. I recommend going to their site to learn more about internet privacy and advocacy (and donating a few bucks if you can spare it). https://www.eff.org/pages/tools

Skip Google for Research

As Google has worked to overtake the internet, its search algorithm has not just gotten worse.  It has been designed to prioritize advertisers and popular pages often times excluding pages and content that better matches your search terms 

As a writer in need of information for my stories, I find this unacceptable.  As a proponent of availability of information so the populace can actually educate itself, it is unforgivable.

Below is a concise list of useful research sites compiled by Edward Clark over on Facebook. I was familiar with some, but not all of these.

⁂

Google is so powerful that it “hides” other search systems from us. We just don’t know the existence of most of them. Meanwhile, there are still a huge number of excellent searchers in the world who specialize in books, science, other smart information. Keep a list of sites you never heard of.

www.refseek.com - Academic Resource Search. More than a billion sources: encyclopedia, monographies, magazines.

www.worldcat.org - a search for the contents of 20 thousand worldwide libraries. Find out where lies the nearest rare book you need.

https://link.springer.com - access to more than 10 million scientific documents: books, articles, research protocols.

www.bioline.org.br is a library of scientific bioscience journals published in developing countries.

http://repec.org - volunteers from 102 countries have collected almost 4 million publications on economics and related science.

www.science.gov is an American state search engine on 2200+ scientific sites. More than 200 million articles are indexed.

www.pdfdrive.com is the largest website for free download of books in PDF format. Claiming over 225 million names.

www.base-search.net is one of the most powerful researches on academic studies texts. More than 100 million scientific documents, 70% of them are free

movie vs book (i adore them both) 

How could you leave this in the notes, excellent addition

Actually, this makes the childification of Michael in the movie when he’s 15 in the book really funny:

Sophie, a 20-ish year old woman from a fantasy land where getting married at 16 or 17 does not seem to be unusual: Yes, this is a young man who is almost an adult.

Howl, a man in his late 20s from our world: This is a BABY and he does BABY things.

@satans-throw-pillow

no

YES. For the love of Jesus stop white knighting. 

From a historical website about the history of Saris, from a person WHO MAKES THEM FOR A LIVING 

Website 2 - a website dedicated to asking “is wearing them disrepectful?”

Website 3 - Google’s Arts and Culture website, dedicate to educating people about different things around the globe concerning art and culture

(sari vs saree for reference sake is just a matter of preference for spelling).

Literally the only people fake outraged by this (I call it fake outrage because people only get “mad” about it when they see people online but totally forget aobut it in everyday life otherwise) are white girls on twitter, tumblr, and other social medias believing they are “coming in and saving the day on behalf of people from India”. STOP THE WHITE KNIGHTING.

For starters, Saris have over 100 different ways to wear them. To buy them traditionally tends to be very rare and expensive because of how hard it is to make these garments. Second, they’re becoming more common in areas close to India, like Sri Lanka. 

Also, also, according to Hinduism reincarnation beliefs, we have the ability to reincarnate into any person on this Earth, so any skin color. Some people wear them to show their pride in Hinduism. Some wear it to honor India ancestors. Some wear it just because it is a beautiful piece of fabric. 

Like anything, wear it with respect. Wear it with pride. 

Reminding people again that you cannot steal what is freely given. It’s not appropriation if someone within the culture is like “here ya go, try this!”. I get that wearing stuff like a sari feels like you’re an impostor but the way to deal with that is to just do the thing that makes you uncomfortable.

I used to live in a city with a large Desi population, and loved going into the local shops to see the gorgeous clothing (and to buy silk fabric and ready-made trim!). I showed interest in a lehenga choli set and the ladies working there were. Thrilled. I ended up spending well over an hour trying on different ones because they were just bringing them over one after another, narrowing down the style and colors that would be flattering on me, showing me how to wear it properly.

I wore the one I chose to a convention, and encountered an Indian woman running a henna booth and selling some jewelry. At first I felt kind of embarrassed, like an imposter. (Should I (Latinx) be wearing this?) But she was also thrilled to see someone wearing clothing from her culture, and just… gave me a maang tikka, because it went so well with the outfit. (I ended up purchasing the necklace that went with it, so maybe it was a shrewd business move, ahaha)

It’s the same with kimono, people from Japan are so excited to see an American properly wearing one, even ‘just’ a yukata.

Appropriation is stealing cultural designs and motifs for your mass-produced fast fashion, taking money away from their artisans and devaluing their product. Appropriation is trying to divorce clothing from its cultural roots.

So long as it is common clothing (not sacred or having a special meaning), and as long as it is worn with respect (preferably sourced directly from the culture it comes from), we should be enjoying the beauty of other cultures by wearing it on our bodies. Sharing is not appropriation!

It’s important to recognize problematic appropriation but that does not mean we need to segregate every aspect of culture into neat racial categories

It’s literally that simple

Friend: “hey my son can’t concentrate on his homework. He chooses to do literally anything else everytime. He said his head doesn’t feel like it.”

Me: “Did you give him music?”

Friend: “No! No tech until he’s done! He doesn’t need more distracted.”

Me:

“k, bring me the child”

*Go to her house*

*points to the obviously ADHD boy struggling with his homework*

Me: “so your head doesn’t feel like doing homework?”

Son: “yeah. It would rather do ANYTHING else.”

Me: *unwrapping earbuds* here, listen to this for an hour while you do it.

French voice: 1hr later

Son: “k I’m done! :-)”

Friend: “wow, what’d you give him? Concentra, Adderall, Ritalin‽”

Me: “Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics” and some lo-fi.

I-I’m gonna try this for myself

Go for it! From what I’ve seen, everyone has a different genre but instrumental (no words) seems to be key. I guess Sweet Dreams words are so ethereal, ADHD just rolls with it????

For me, orchestral covers of songs I know work best since my ADHD is using the extra hyperfocus to remember and keep up with words. Have fun experimenting!!

I have some arrangements of songs I did that I just loop. Mind you, these are, like, 1-3 minutes long, but the drone really helps with focus

Y'all I just listen to Lana Del Rey. Would recommend because with instrumentals I tend to focus on where actual words would be but with Lana’s stuff her vocals sound like music but it’s words

really wish I could’ve done this when I was spending 4 hours on every page of math homework in the 90′s. Fast forward to my last year of college when I finally figured out I could just listen to Blackmill and blaze through an entire semester of college math like it was nothing.  Find the study methods that work for you!!! Help kids find the study methods that work for them!  

It takes me all day to do simple chores because i keep getting distracted. If i put in earbuds with upbeat music I’m done with everything in a couple hours AND i feel really good and probably danced a little i.e. exercised.

Try songs in another language - one you don’t speak. The idea is that since you don’t understand the words, your brain doesn’t go “Oh hey, someone is talking to me” and thus you can maintain your focus. Although, this is something probably  best suited to writing. But on the other hand, if it works, it works.  Personally, I like Opera. BUT, I advise against using Pandora’s Opera Station. At least in the free version, it either cycles through the same ten Singers/Albums or drifts off into instrumental covers.  On the other hand, it’s great for background noise when gaming. Just be sure you have an ad blocker running. You will also have to confirm that you are listening every hour or so. 

Followup on the lofi front: I recommend the following channels. Chillhop Music:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOxqgCwgOqC2lMqC5PYz_Dg

In particular, I recommend the relax/study livestream radio. Or just about any of their mixes. Fantasic Music:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZyyXrEF2WCZbI653PFNBbA Both the Chill and the Jazz playlists are excellent.  Jazzhop Cafe:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi8wqezBudeAiTdKOX571ug

Their ChillMix videos are the best.  Jazzhop Cafe Archive:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKbD–QKXKosHmSXarqYUeg Name is self-evident.  I believe ChilledCow also has a livestream, but I honestly prefer Chillhop. YMMV https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSJ4gkVC6NrvII8umztf0Ow

EDIT: Oh, Pandora’s Vitamin String Quartet IS good, but it tends to drift off into New Age type stuff. Adblocker thing still applies though. 

I’ve seen is said elsewhere but I also highly recommend video game soudtracks! Especially if you don’t tend to enjoy the more orchestral music. They are usually engineered to make you focus better (ie. not want to stop playing the game)

“portal 2: songs to test by” got me through all my college math classes

“portal 2: songs to

test by” got me through all my

college math classes

Beep boop! I look for accidental haiku posts. Sometimes I mess up.

Reblogging again. Firefox is an excellent, safe and fast browser and everyone should consider using it.

Don’t just consider it. If you have the ability to switch to Firefox, this is your official notice to do it.

Stop everything you’re doing and go download and install Firefox.

If you’re saying, “well, I need Chrome because I need such-and-such extension for my job”, the computer will not explode if you install another browser. Use Chrome ONLY for work tasks and use Firefox for everything else. If you’re concerned about losing your bookmarks, Firefox can import your Chrome bookmarks.

[ID: Firefox Library window. The “Import and Backup” panel is expanded, displaying the option, “Import Data from Another Browser”, which is also circled with a red MS Paint ellipse. ID end.]

And, don’t forget to install uBlock Origin while you’re at it.

Forgot a thing. Subscribe to Mozilla VPN for bonus points. It’s basically the only truly secure VPN service in the world right now.

For $5 a month, you can completely conceal your online activities from your ISP in a manner that isn’t just immediately monetised or turned over to the cops. No, it’s not free, it does cost money, but the money doesn’t go to line a billionaire’s pockets.

I wonder how much of this is because of work/school from home forcing people to use Chrome so all their stupid monitoring softwares and platforms can work.

This is also your reminder that you don't have to use just one browser. You can use chrome for all the monitoring bullshit your office wants you to run and use firefox for everything else.

Be sure to add the multi account containers extension to your firefox, which allows you to be logged in to multiple accounts on the same website at the same time in the same window but in different tabs.

look on my five open tumblr accounts (not sideblogs, accounts!) ye mighty and despair.

Firefox is super good, folks. It's good in a general "google shouldn't own everything in the entire fucking world" sense AND in a "this is an actual good product that does lots of cool shit" sense.

ALSO make sure to add the Ublock origin extension on Firefox - I haven't seen a youtube ad in five years and you don't have to either.

While you're at it, why not add the Wayback Machine extension so that if you go looking for a page that has been taken down the wayback machine will automatically offer you an archived version instead; also handy for documenting people's shitty takes and winning arguments after they delete the original post!

Worried that Firefox is going to slow down your computer? In benchmarks, modern versions of chrome and firefox are pretty much the same speed but you can still install the auto tab discard extension ANYWAY so that it will snooze unused tabs in order to keep your computer running faster. Set it to sleep, discard, close, and store tags at your discretion!

And while you're at it: install Firefox as your mobile browser for android and add those extensions to your mobile browser! Mobile adblock is here, baybee, save your data and enjoy a better mobile experience! And install it on iOS! iOS can't add extensions, but at least it's better than safari, and if you want a somewhat more private iOS browsing experience try firefox focus for iOS (which is also available on android but you can accomplish the same thing with extensions).

Anyway, firefox is good.

Also: in January 2023, Chrome is making some changes to plugin architecture that effectively neutering adblockers.  If you want good adblocking, you won’t have it in Chrome.  Use Firefox

(In fairness, some Chrome-derived browsers like Vivaldi and Opera have openly parted ways with Chrome about this, and more power to them, but Firefox is the way to go.)

FACTS ABOUT YOUR WASHING MACHINE (3mins)

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTd7LYWED/?k=1