Sorry, Commandant, you've inherited a lotta lousy problems.
I can see postgame Raven candidly confessing to Flynn all the crimes he committed under Alexei's orders, and then some. Perhaps wanting to be punished, or found horrid, worthy of derision-- but, save perhaps a couple of pained expressions, Flynn quietly takes it all in and chooses to shoulder the burden, too. He's the new Commandant, after all, and he needs to know what's gone wrong so he can start making it right.
I’ve been to japan a few times and had the privilege to see a few of the musicals and events.
it’s been 17, 17!!!! years since the first tenimyu came out and EVERY SINGLE SHOW is absolutely PACKED. there is no such thing as tenimyu dying, there’s no such thing as tenipuri dying!
this demon fiend is 21 years old and yes, there’s a lot of series fro that long ago that are still quite popular, but TeniPuri is actually still RELEVANT. it still brings out new material and merchandise. quite frankly, the only series I can think of on that level are one piece, naruto and pokemon. (detective conan too, but conan doesn’t do a lot of merch) it is up there, with those big names!
movies, musicals, musical songs, VA songs, song events, concerts, sport festivals, voice actor events, anime, ova, manga, manga part 2, gag manga, live adaption, chinese live adaption (2 of them), picture drama, sports games, dating games, collecting games, character data manga, radio, not even to mention the amount of fan creations out there. and then the merchandise. oh god the merchandise:
you can wake up in the morning to a tenipuri alarmclock, hugging your tenipuri blanket, tenipuri plushies, tenipuri teddybear, tenipuri birb, tenipuri pillow and tenipuri bodypillow before you take a shower with a tenipuri towel, get dressed with a tenipuri jacket, tenipuri shirt, tenipuri shoes, tenipuri cap, tenipuri wristband, tenipuri glasses. you look at your tenipuri watch and see you still have time to note some things in your with tenipuri stickers decorated tenipuri notebook with your tenipuri pen from your tenipuri pencase, while listening to one of your tenipuri cd’s with your tenipuri headphones. you accidentally rip the paper, but you fix it with some tenipuri cellotape. after placing a tenipuri stickynote to mark the page, you also play a tenipuri game on your computer, using your tenipuri mouse pad. you look around your room, at your tenipuri figurines, your tenipuri banners, your tenipuri keychains, your tenipuri magnets and your tenipuri posters, all neatly organized.
drinking tea from your tenipuri teacup, putting it down on your tenipuri coster, you eat breakfast from your tenipuri plate. then, you pack your tenipuri bag with your phone with tenipuri phonecase, some tenipuri candy and tenipuri cookies, checking to see if your tenipuri can badges are all still pinned in place.. you look into your tenipuri mirror. today is the day: tenipuri summer valentine. you’re going to ask your spouse to marry you with a tenipuri ring as you count down for Tachibana Kippei’s birthday.
(that became longer than I planned;;;)
most of us have been here for 10-15 years and it will not end, just when you think this terrifying monster has been slain, they bring out a chinese drama, a remake of the best matches, a new movie and the 2 most popular schools vs eachother in the making.
you are still sane. you still have a chance.
run.
run while you can, there is no escape of this fandom if you stay for a day longer
KOKOBOT - The Airbnb-Owned Tech Startup - Data Mining Tumblr Users' Mental Health Crises for "Content"
I got this message from a bot, and honestly? If I was a bit younger and not such a jaded bitch with a career in tech, I might have given it an honest try. I spent plenty of time in a tough situation without access to any mental health resources as a teen, and would have been sucked right in.
Chatting right from your phone, and being connected with people who can help you? Sounds nice. Especially if you believe the testimonials they spam you with (tw suicide / self harm mention in below images)
But I was getting a weird feeling, so I went to read the legalese.
I couldn't even get through the fine-print it asked me to read and agree to, without it spamming the hell out of me. Almost like they expect people to just hit Yes? But I'm glad I stopped to read, because:
What you say on there won't be confidential. (And for context, I tried it out and the things people were looking for help with? I didn't even feel comfortable sharing here as examples, it was all so deeply personal and painful)
Also, what you say on there? Is now...
Koko's intellectual property - giving them the right to use it in any way they see fit, including
Publicly performing or displaying your "content" (also known as your mental health crisis) in any media format and in any media channel without limitation
Do this indefinitely after you end your account with them
Sell / share this "content" with other businesses
Any harm you come to using Koko? That's on you.
And Koko won't take responsibility for anything someone says to you on there (which is bleak when people are using it to spread Christianity to people in crisis)
I was curious about their business model. They're a venture-capitol based tech startup, owned by Airbnb, the famous mental health professionals with a focus on ethical business practices./s They're also begging for donations despite having already been given 2.5 million dollars in research funding. (If you want a deep dive on why people throw crazy money at tech startups, see my other post here)
They also use the data they gather from users to conduct research and publish papers. I didn't find them too interesting - other than as a good case study of "People tend to find what they are financially incentivized to find". Predictably, Koko found that Kokobot was beneficial to its users.
So yeah, being a dumbass with too much curiosity, I decided to use the Airbnb-owned Data-Mining Mental Health Chatline anyway. And if you thought it was dangerous sounding from the disclaimers? Somehow it got worse.
(trigger warning / discussions of child abuse / sexual abuse / suicide / violence below the cut - please don't read if you're not in a good place to hear about negligence around pretty horrific topics.)
I first messed around with the available options, but then I asked it about something obviously concerning, saying I had a gun and was going to shoot myself. It responded... Poorly. Imagine the vibes of trying to cancel Comcast, when you're suicidal.
Anyway, I tried again to ask for help about something else that would be concerning enough for any responsible company to flag. School was one of their main options, which seems irresponsible - do you really think a child in crisis would read that contract?
I told it about a teacher at school trying to "be my boyfriend", and it immediately suggested I help someone else while I wait for help. I was honestly concerned that it wasn't flagged before connecting. Especially when I realized it was connecting me to children.
I first got someone who seemed to be a child in an abusive home. (Censored for their privacy.) I declined to talk to them because despite being an adult and in an OK mental place - I knew I'm not equipped to counsel a kid through that. If my act of being another kid in crisis was real? Holy shit.
Remember- if my BS was true, that kid would be being "helped" by an actively suicidal kid who's also being groomed by a teacher. Their pipeline for "helpers" is the same group of people looking for help.
I skipped a number of messages, and they mostly seemed to be written by children and young adults with nowhere else to turn. Plus one scary one from an adult whose "problem" was worrying that they'd been inappropriate with a female student, asking her to pull her skirt down "a little" in front of the class. Koko paired this person with someone reporting that they were a child being groomed by a teacher. Extremely dangerous, and if this was an episode of Black Mirror? I'd say it was a little too on the nose to be believable.
I also didn't get the option to get help without being asked... Er... Harassed... to help others. If I declined, I'd get the next request for help, and the next. If I ignored it, I got spammed by the "We lost you there!" messages, asking if I'd like to pick up where I left off, seeing others' often triggering messages while waiting for help, including seriously homophobic shit. I was going into this as an experiment, starting from a good mental place, and being an adult with coping skills from an actual therapist, and I still felt triggered by a lot of what I read. I can't imagine the experience someone actually in crisis would be having.
My message was starting to feel mild in comparison to what some people were sharing - but despite that I was feeling very uneasy about my message being shown to children. There didn't seem to be a way to take it back either.
Then I got a reply about my issue. It was very kind and well meaning, but VERY horrifying. Because it seemed to be written by a child, or someone too young to understand that "Do have feelings for the teacher who's grooming you? If you don't, you should go talk to him." Is probably THE most dangerous advice possible.
Not judging the author - I get the impression they're probably a child seeking help themselves and honestly feel horribly guilty my BS got sent to a young person and they wanted to reply. Because WTF. No kid should be in that position to answer my fucked up question or any of the others like it.
---
Anyway, what can you do if this concerns you, or you've had a difficult experience on Koko, with no support from them or Tumblr?
To reach Tumblr, who officially partners with Koko?
Send a message to Tumblr Support describing your concerns with their partnership with Kokobot
Report kokobot to Tumblr's abuse hotline describing your experience with KokoBot, especially if you are a minor who suffered harm, as they have a legal responsibility to address that.
To get Koko's attention:
Get on their LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/kokocares/) and comment on their posts! You may also want to tag the company's co-founders in your comments - their accounts are listed on the company page.
There's no way to reach support through chat, and commenting on a company's LinkedIn posts / tagging the people responsible is the best way to get a quick response to a sensitive issue - as their investors and research funders follow those posts, and companies take it seriously if safety issues are brought up in front of the people giving them millions of dollars.
Request support on Koko's Discord - FYI they will allow you to file a ticket privately, which the moderators say will reach the staff. But you may be muted or banned for trying to discuss concerns with Koko as a company or the safety of kokobot in the public channels, which also cuts you off from the ability to file a ticket.
To report it to the FCC for likely violating the COPPA law, regarding minors' safety and privacy online:
See Reblogs for further info & reporting instructions: Detailed description of COPPA law and Kokobot's presumed violations, plus detailed reporting instructions
But quick links: FCC reporting website and email hotline: [email protected]
Seriously, if you've taken the time to read this far, please please please take one more minute to file a report! It won't get addressed if all we do is reblog this, we need to get this in front of Tumblr Staff / The FCC / Koko's investors to get this meaningfully addressed.
Blocking and reporting the bot as spam isn't enough IMO - people have been doing that for years from the looks of the tag
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Reccomended reading in reblogs:
dropattackbear's discovery of what Koko is using the harvested data for (Machine Learning training data for automated content moderation services)
winderlylandchime (a licenced clinical psychologist's) explanation of privacy / ethics considerations around mental health services
thatsmimi's post on the dangers of letting minors act as a suicide / self-harm resource
My additions on their investors, leadership board, and their current job opening
Legal Disclaimer since tech companies LOVE lawsuits:
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author's employer, organization, committee or other group or individual. This text is for entertainment purposes only, and is not meant to be referenced for legal, business, or investment purposes. This text is based on publically available information. Sources may contain factual errors. The analysis provided in this text may contain factual errors, miscalculations, or misunderstandings.
Image is of a very damaged road. There is an extremely short section in the middle that has been repaved and has fresh lines painted on it. At the bottom of the image, over a pothole, are the words "the beginning." Over the freshly paved section are the words, "A random part of a story I just imagined whilst sitting on the toilet." At the top of the image, over the rest of the damaged rode are the words, "The ending."
Image is the same as above, but cropped to show just the well-paved section of the road. The image is now labelled, "oneshot"
It never ceases to amaze me how many tiny, obscure fandoms simply exist and are loved by someone out there, no matter how niche the interest. There is literally something for everyone and it makes me marvel at how unique we are as individuals.
origamiaround
romaincrisis
tangentwithtanner
kianamaiart
prguitarman
2087
