Unhindered figure; curious apocrypha

[nautiloidleviathan]

Attending the protest! Go San Antonio!

[thefernhands]

If you're fifteen or older an still sleep with a stuffed animal please reblog this.

My friend is embarrassed and thinks she’s the only one and I said id prove her wrong.

[politijohn]

Source

Source

[animentality]

[thewitchoftheweed]

We live in the dumbest, lamest cyberpunk dystopia possible.

So LA has been — and continues to — protest against ICE. These protests haven’t gotten any smaller or lost any momentum, but social media wasn’t reflecting it.

TikTok users, realizing that the platform/other social media are censoring/deleting/shadowbanning these protest videos, decided to find a workaround.

They’re calling it the LA Music Festival. Ice detention centers and other protest locations are “stages.” The hottest band is Rage Against the Machine. “Here’s what gear you should be bringing to stay safe at the LA Music Festival.”

And it fucking worked.

TikTok has become a proving ground for a lot of new music, meaning lots of labels and organizations have lucrative deals with TikTok to promote their new artists and music festivals. So they absolutely cannot censor the words “music festival” or train the algorithm to ignore it, or they risk endangering that very important revenue.

So now protest videos are flooding feeds again, but it’s the LA 24/7 Music Festival. Truly an incredible timeline we’ve landed in.

[charonsferry]

During the Civil Rights Movement of the 60s, radio broadcasts would refer to upcoming marches as "parties" and use other such euphemisms to sneak calls to organize past censors. For example, the Birmingham marches of 1963 were called "a field trip in the park with a luncheon".

This is, frankly, a timeless strategy, just done online.

[nautiloidleviathan]

Still going with the boycott! Internet Archive, to use modern parlance, is coming in clutch. I might add to it soon, and should anyone be so inclined, I encourage it as well.

The 25th is my first day of class. I only have one (for now) on Mondays. I am making spotify playlists for music to study to. I have some CD's planned that I think will be good background music, and I will check IA soon.

[chestersbraincell]

I’m curious, so please reblog for reach! Also be honest, there is complete anonymity in polls so, there really is no shame. I just want to know where we stand just about a week into the boycott

How are you boycotting at this point?

Havent touched youtube at ALL(wow.)

I’ve opened it once or twice by accident but I’ve developed strategies

keep opening it on accident basically every other day but only for like minutes

I’m using it but keeping it to a minimum (1-3 hours a week)

I’m using it but keeping it to a minimum(3-5 hours a week)

I’m using it but keeping it to a minimum(under 10 hours a week)

I’ve given up on the boycott by now

I never did the boycott

Voting ended onAug 25, 2025

Again, please reblog for larger sample size! And remember, any contribution is contribution! It all adds up to a bigger picture

[nautiloidleviathan]

It is early on the 5th day of the YT boycott.

I found yesterday to be the hardest day. I have been using alternatives - physical media, Twitch, Spotify, Pandora, and a bit of IHeart radio. I still click the app out of habit every once and a while, but I never linger longer than a second.

I wrote it down, but I noticed something along the lines of "the way in which I watch YouTube scratches an itch that I cannot identify". I have alternatives. I only have a select number of channels I watch at this point. There's something about it such that I am noticing its absence.

I have been getting my house more in order. I've been playing a bit of the Lego Batman DS game. It's bringing back memories.

[badluck990]

From the Youtube Boycott Discord Server:

IMPORTANT INFO

I've been seeing a lot of misunderstanding going around about how YouTube works, and what will work best in regards to the boycott, so l wanted to put it all together in one place for everyone to read. This is just my understanding of how this all works, so as always with anything, take it with a grain of salt! YOUTUBE INFO

Continuing to watch YouTube with an ad blocker still gives YouTube traffic. Many people have been using ad blockers for years, and it is something YouTube is already very familiar with. Even if it does cost them ad revenue, they will point to ad blockers as the issue rather than listening to concerns about their age verification system. Watching YouTube with an ad blocker will not work for the purposes of this boycott.

Using third-party apps such as FreeTube or NewPipe does still give YouTube traffic and counts towards views and watch time. There are extra privacy features with these apps, which is great, but on Youtube's end it is functionally the same as using ad blockers. Using third-party apps to watch YouTube will not work for the purposes of this boycott.

Watch time is a huge factor (to my knowledge, one of if not the biggest factors) in how much profit YouTube makes. The longer you stay on their website

namely, the longer you're actively watching videos - the more money they earn through ad revenue. So, for example, a single user watching a 30 minute video is much more valuable to them than a single user watching a 5 minute video. Video watch time matters much more than video views, or the amount of traffic they get from users sitting on the YouTube homepage.

Something to remember is that it is okay not to be perfect. Having an all-or-nothing mindset will just lead to burnout, and giving up on the boycott too early. So, in the spirit of progress rather than perfection, here are some steps to take:

1 - Cancel YouTube Premium. If you currently have a YouTube Premium subscription, cancel it, and tell them why.

When you cancel, leave them a message explaining that you are canceling because of the new age verification policy, and state firmly that you will not be paying for or using YouTube until this policy is revoked. Even if you plan to use YouTube again in the future, tell them that you won't.

2 - Download videos rather than streaming them. Fully boycotting YouTube is the single best thing you can do right now, but if that isn't possible, here is what you can do instead to avoid giving YouTube more watch time.

Search the specific channels that you want - or, if you must, browse your subscription tab and homepage - until you find the video you want to watch. Rather than opening it, right-click the video and hit 'copy link' or whatever similar option your browser has. Then, paste the link into your YouTube Downloader of choice, and enjoy. To my knowledge, watching videos this way will not give YouTube videos views or watch time. It will still give the website traffic overall, but is still a solid alternative to just streaming the videos.

3 - If you can, stop using YouTube altogether. Refusing to give their website any traffic at all is the single best thing you can do to protest right now. If you cannot stop using it entirely due to work, or if there are a few specific things you want to keep up with, use downloaders as mentioned above, but keep YouTube usage to an absolute minimum as much as possible.

4- try to get YouTubers to contact youtube YouTubers are our few ways to get direct contact with YouTube. If we can get YouTubers to start contacting youtube about reversing this ID policy, than we can increase our chances to reverting the policy

5 - Spread the word.

Share info about the age verification system and the boycott to as many others as you can. Many people might not be aware of what's going on, or how to meaningfully protest it. Be prepared for pushback. It's completely normal to feel nervous when speaking up about something like this. There will very likely be some people who get irritated or disagree, and that is okay. Remember - don't attack anyone who disagrees with the protest. Don't try to guilt-trip anyone. Shame is a demotivator - making someone feel bad will not do anything to convince them. Just present your concerns about the age verification system, offer resources to learn more about it, and talk about the boycott. TALKING POINTS When spreading the word about the boycott, here are a few things to focus on:

The A.l. age estimation system is incredibly inconsistent and will end up incorrectly locking many adult users out of the full features of their accounts.

Any system that requires users to upload a picture of their government I.D. is extremely dangerous. This puts all users at massive risk of their personal data being exposed on a level that has never been seen before.

The age verification system does not protect children. This system does nothing to address the mountains of harmful content already found on the YouTube Kids app, and it will not effectively prevent kids from accessing that harmful content.

LGBT+ content will get incorrectly marked as 'adult' and will be censored as a result of this system. Teens and kids will be prevented from accessing LGBT content, even if it is 100% appropriate.

• Youtube's age verification system is not about safety, it is about data collection and censorship. It is extremely likely that the real motive behind this change is to allow YouTube as a company to collect even more personal data from its users, allowing them to serve even more targeted ads and make more profit, while also effectively censoring content they do not like.

Lastly - protesting the changes made to You Tube is going to be difficult.

It is going to be frustrating, it is going to be exhausting, and it is also going to be boring.

Going without a major source of

entertainment that, for many of us, has been part of our daily routine for years, is a very hard thing to do.

But it is also important.

No one can tell you what to do. It is your personal choice whether you boycott YouTube partially, entirely, or even participate at all. If this is important to you, know that it will be hard, and it will take a long time to see any success.

This was posted in the youtube boycott discord server by Admin TopHatInc and much of it was compiled by NoHotBeverages.

[nautiloidleviathan]

Though a day later than the starting date, I have decided to do my best at boycotting YouTube due to their particularly invasive new policy.

I don't know how effective it will be, I'll admit. However, I will give it a shot (as in for more than just a day and more than encouraging others - as if anyone I know would really go with it outside of a couple). I did sign a GoFundMe for its reversal. At the time I did, said petition had just over 92,000 signings. The last thing I feel like I can do is boost the boycott's SEO.

Being in the position of balancing the ethics of preventing inappropriate content from being too easily accessible (whether it be to minors or otherwise) and protection of privacy, is not one I envy. In the slightest. However, of the ways to do it, this is *not it*.

It is an invasion of privacy - a violation of a *human right*. Should you need to avoid confrontation, you can say you're on YouTube too much (*me*) and why not take a break when you have a lot of internet support to help keep you going?

I am grateful for my ever growing collection of physical media. Instances like this (I believe) highlight why physical media is so important. You don't have to have every form of media and gaming system that has a physical copy, but having a way to access it should you want to (online piracy, downloaded video games, movies, etc. count in this case too) is essential. If you can get to it when YouTube, Amazon, Netflix, Disney, EA, and their ilk take advantage of their monopolies, that is what matters.

Now, YouTube is different than most streaming services. You can't rent a Jacksepticeye video from the library (but you can download it!). And fuck it won't be easy, particularly in the long run. I love what YouTube as a platform is capable of. I love a lot of creators and their content. I think the reversal of this policy will help everyone - even if the beginning is pushing painful.

I will be combating habit. I might have to cave for an assignment, but between then, I'll do my best.

[sugarmage]

[bellringermal]

[thyrell]

[fendalan]

Way too funny not to share

[ms-demeanor]

[optimisticrunawaygalaxy]

[charlesoberonn]

Don't let Republicans distract you with gimmicky culture war bills. Republican policies are making Americans' lives shorter and worse in every conceivable way.

[discombobulatedrebel]

Harvard rejects Trump demands, gets hit by $2.3 billion funding freeze

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/harvard-will-fight-trump-administration-demands-over-funding-2025-04-14/

A university with a spine! Huzzah!

(This is genuine insanity. Why is Trump fighting HARVARD? But then why shouldn't he? Education is a threat, after all.)

In summary:

White House made certain demands to Columbia. Columbia agreed, traded integrity, got no funds back, and are presently being boycotted by the other Ivy Leagues.

White House made even harsher demands to Harvard. Harvard disagreed, and got hit by a $2.3 BILLION research fund freezing.

The demands include a practically semi-annual review of hiring, teaching, admissions and student life across the university by a political appointee mostly centred around limiting international students + ZERO GUARANTEE OF FUNDS for compliance.

Authoritarian regime much?

Anyway, shouldn't have an immediate effect on Harvard. If there's a Uni with the endowment to persevere through the rest of this administration, it's them; they're filthy rich.

But it's them now. Trump has stated bluntly that there are many other universities to come, some of whom don't have billion-dollar cushions. Things like this demand collective resistance. MIT has already joined Harvard. Thus is where university coalitions, accreditation boards, alumni networks, researchers and students need to stand together.

Academic freedom can only survive if defended.

If things don't change there's bound to be a massive brain drain. All the US is doing is just digging its own grave deeper and deeper.

[politijohn]

Source

Source

[tzikeh]

...*sigh*

*taps mic*

[formalinlovers]

I was planning to post this on Oshi day but it’s came out cutie, i feel like i have to post asap T T

I’ll carrying him around like a man go to war carrying pictures of babes to look at ^^

[tuckedinbugw]

Nothing like holding my love

[bunabi]

they said it couldn't be done etc etc [x]

[bunabi]

UVW-CWA is a direct-join organization, meaning any video game industry worker in the U.S. or Canada working as an artist, writer, designer, QA tester, or programmer can join, regardless of whether they are freelance or fulltime or whether or not other workers at their company have joined.

Some more from their IGN press release. If there's anyone at GDC right now: they have a booth with more details. And a zine with membership information. 🥺