Poetry Pavement

a pavement where poetry goes to die

[aninactivebloggfgfgf]

An Open Letter to Tumblr about the Adult Content Ban and How it is Hurting Your Users:

Recently, Tumblr was removed from the Apple app store due to an incident involving child pornography. This incident is incredibly unfortunate, but it doesn’t stand alone. Tumblr was also removed from the app store due to the large influx of porn bots and pornographic spam, users claiming to be proud to be pedophiles, blatant Nazism, racists who are not deleted for sending hate and harassing users, and more. I myself reported someone for harassing me, but because I had blocked the person and couldn’t access the messages where they harassed me, they were still able to send me anonymous asks. Your support staff, with back doors to the website (presumably), claimed they could not access the messages, and I was left SOL. Many features on this website do nothing to actually protect your users from harassment, racism, homophobia, transphobia, Nazis, pedophiles, predators, porn bots, and more. 

You claim in your statement to us that you “have been working on these problems for a long time”. This is blatantly untrue. Please do not lie to us and patronize us. We’ve been here. We’ve seen you do nothing over, and over, and over again. 

We complained to you for months and months about the rampant porn bots, and you did nothing except add a report button on mobile which only reported sensitive content or spam at best. You could have addressed this problem with an effective algorithm, but you did not. We complained to you about being harassed and sent hate speech for being LGBT+, and you did nothing. We complained to you about blogs being randomly deleted, and sometimes you’ve restored them, other times you have not. We complained to you that there were people proudly claiming to be “Minor Attracted Persons”, or pedophiles, and you did nothing. We complained to you about people proudly claiming to be white supremacists, and you did nothing. All of these things are “against the community guidelines”, and yet over and over, you have not found effective ways to handle these problems or suppress the feeling of welcome that these users claim to get here. You have had a long time to work on these problems, but you haven’t addressed them. To say you have is untrue. 

 Multiple other social networking websites, such as Wordpress, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and others have effectively dealt with rampant pornography, racism, pedophilia, and other problems without causing massive issues for their users who are not misusing the platform. They are continuing to find new, effective ways to deal with these issues without causing problems for their userbase as a whole.  There is no reason that you are unable to do this effectively other than that you wanted to do it quickly. You have once again chosen your stock holders over your users. And we have had enough. 

You have already started to ban “Adult” content with a new algorithm. Here are screenshots of just a fraction of the posts you have flagged as containing adult content:

Your new system of simply tackling everything at once is not working. At all. And each of these screenshots is proof of your utter incompetence. None of these posts contain pornographic acts, “female nipples”, or any community violation of any kind. 

We, the users, have been asking you for months to deal with these problems - particularly, the porn bots and bots that spam. In order to block a bot from a side blog, I have to do it manually, even though they are in my side blog’s feed. This is a huge issue for mobile - only users. They keep cropping up in droves, taking over our posts and tricking google into making it look like a legitimate blog linked to a pornographic website. We have complained to you for months and months now, and your solution to simply “ban all adult content” is ineffective. I agree that children should not be able to access pornography - but this is not how you tackle a porn bot problem. Your system is utterly useless, allows for racists, pedophiles, porn bots, and Nazis to remain untouched. It also harms sex workers and real people who may use this website for some forms of adult content responsibly. Moreover, as seen above, it harms plenty of users who have in no way violated your terms of service.

 If you keep this up, you threaten your website and company as a whole. Many of us are backing up our blogs and planning places to go to. 

You already have a content filter for “sensitive” content (content inappropriate for younger viewers). You could have improved this, instead of attacking your entire user base. It seems to be a very lazy “solution”, if you could call it one at all, and one that harms your entire userbase.

If you are going to keep this filter in place and make Tumblr, a website that has never been known for being family friendly and has never claimed to be, you are going to lose millions of your users. We are already planning our exodus. It isn’t hard to follow. Censor us, and we will go somewhere else. That is not a threat. It is a promise. 

Sincerely, 

The users of your website. 

@staff @support

[aninactivebloggfgfgf]

They flagged this post immediately and I’ve submitted it for review… this is… quite a week.

[aninactivebloggfgfgf]

If you believe these words, reblog it, please. I want this to be right in their face because I couldn’t email them directly. 

[seananmcguire]

j

[deliriumcrow]

@staff

[poetrypavement]

Push

Push, push, always push, Even when your face is bloodied, Even when your body aches, Push, push, always push, Brilliant lights before your eyes, Achingly terrifying humanity, Fragile and breakable everything, Push, push, always push. When you can’t see them anymore, But your heart remembers their faces, There’s always a chance, Push. Push! Always PUSH!

[poetrypavement]

Never, Ever Say Goodbye

Watch the skies and watch the seas, Decide which gods not to appease, Burn the incense, set the shrines, Read the myriad changing signs. Abhor the darkness, praise the light, Never, ever lose your sight, Even though you know you’ll die, Never, ever say goodbye. Watch the rivers, watch the woods, Watch dangerous neighbourhoods, Burn the incense, set the shrines, Get drunk on ceremonial wines.

[poetrypavement]

Witches: You’re Sorted into Snake House

In the Elder days, Ananta the thousand-headed serpent held all the planets of the Universe in his hoods. Thought to be an aspect of Vishnu, a great tragedy split Ananta asunder, scattering the myriad worlds across the vastness of the celestial Pit. No longer was the Universe whole, but a multitude of races and deities were cast into the void, tearing apart the order of things. Mankind grew wild and savage. It was only through the subtle manipulations of the Serpent Women that the world did not succumb to endless terror. Unbidden they came from all the places of the world, of all people and all faiths. They became trusted assistants, viziers and politicians, wound their way through the labyrinthine structures of royal households and the hallowed halls of upstart religions. They knew the shape of their work. To guide, to instill fear of dark things, to undermine and shape. Always the visions came. It was Ananta the nagaraja whispering to these women the secrets of how to mend the world. The Snake Witches are mistrusted by their enemies and compatriots alike, often labeled delusional, misguided or simply evil. But the true adherent of the way knows that whatever cruelties one applies to the waking world are balanced by the eventual restoration of order. The end will always justify the means. Practical: At the beginning of every session, a Snake Witch will get a vision constructed by the GM. It should lead toward an achievable goal this session or an overarching goal for the campaign. The completion of a single goal garners 5XP. The completion of a campaign goal garners 15XP. Snake Tongue: Snake Witches get an automatic success when lying, convincing or bartering. They can also speak to snakes and worms, although they rarely get anything useful out of them. Snakes and worms have their own problems.

[poetrypavement]

North Gods (d10 & d20)

You worship Millan the Breaker, goddess of the downfall of all things. The Breaker discourages the building of new things. Why bother? They’ll just fall prey to the relentless forces of entropy. Her priests occupy the hovel-palaces of dead or no longer worshiped deities and place little faith in mankind’s ability to overcome its current crises. Adherents of Millan can come from various professions. Soldiers, reavers, bureaucrats and politicians can all contribute to the ruination of the world.

You worship Bhule, god of a thousand small cuts. Followers of Bhule believe that miniscule, petty acts empower their deity and lead to the destruction of the wicked. His priests are at best belligerent pranksters and at worst dangerous nuisances. It is said the monarch of Dune City died in the labyrinthine dungeons of his own ancient castle after his vizier, a follower of Bhule, gave him incorrect directions to the newly built royal toilet.

You worship Yenma, goddess of dark places. Yenma’s followers often blind themselves to be closer to their goddess, while others try to adopt a nocturnal lifestyle. Her priests live in caverns and sometimes make shelters and trenches in the desert sands, calling out Yenma’s histories to any who will hear.

You worship Lekek, god of the greatest city that never existed. Lekek comes from a time before time when godlings and spirits roamed the void. He set himself as the architect of the First City, but was written out of sacred history by Kalamad, goddess of Time. Adherents of Lekek are haunted by constant visions of a golden, perfect city only to despair that not only did it never exist, no such wonder can exist again.

You worship Bekaki the Invader. She is the goddess of all non-humans, and many believe she is the mother of all monsters (or frightening animals, or ugly people, depending on who you ask). Adherents are mostly non-humans, but all try to make themselves monstrous in some aspect, whether it be physically or otherwise.

You worship Festsef, god of worms. Festsef is the patron god of worms and long things, sand dragons and worm-like parasites. Adherents take the ceremonial tape-worm into themselves and always look very sickly. His priests like to slip worms into people’s food. The more parasitic the better. You have no idea how serious they are about these worms.

You worship Kalamad, goddess of Time. Adherents of this goddess know that time is a wheel and that they only need to wait for things to improve. The world was a paradise once, it shall be so again. Why fight the endless cycle. Mortal men cannot fix what divinity has wrought.

You worship Borowl the Machine. No one remembers who made Borowl, but in their own way all his followers are mere cogs in his endless machinations. To worship Borowl means to invite a world of cold logic and inhuman desires into your mind. A priest of Borowl will often magically condition an adherent so that they are more like their patron deity. The result can be devastating, creating cold, calculating monsters. But it is just as Borowl wants it. When everything functions as he wills it, the world will be an easier place to fix.

Helle is an ancient goddess of the City of Pellei. It is said that all humans were born in Pellei, brought into being by Helle’s First Word. But Pellei lies in ruins now, a labyrinthine, glorious tomb haunted by ghosts and undying spirits of rage and revenge. Helle is a silent goddess and few know her will directly. Priests of Helle wear few ornaments and busy themselves with improving the lives of humans in these latter days.

Kuren’zerothyr the Child-Taker is a god with very particular instructions to his followers. All children conceived naturally must be banished to the desert and replaced with the offspring of others, taken by force. Both his priests and followers tend to be bandits, raiders and reavers. Some say that desert-gifts (as the abandoned children are called) are sacrifices who are reborn at a later time as hyper-intelligent moths,

OR CHOOSE THESE

Bogat the Driller

Juene of the Skin

Leron the Mountain

Sejetet the Sand Tomb

Yava the Swamp Hag

Xerxerhyat Who Lives

Injuin of Innasat

Plackat the Raider

Kieldren the Womb

Ouifien the Scorpion’s Brother

Hulena the She-Jackal

Yansolo Who Stole Fire

Yamita the Skin Taker

Hultan the Shredder

Epo the Hallowed

Juin the Wise

Ukena Helta Sunna, First of Djinn

Zeo the Promised

Kanna the Canny

Queckoaltl the Feathered Terror

[mountaingoatssuggestion]

If you really want to conjure up a ghost

Cultivate a space for the things that hurt you most

[poetrypavement]

Strings and Threads

Coarse and booming, threads of red, Bearded, blemished, Christ it's hot, Men who are not so blindly led, Men who claim to know what's what. Brooding, squinting at your flaws, Never know what he'll say next, One soul's night, another's laws, Have you never seen me vexed?

[poetrypavement]

the signs as i've known them

Aries: the most loyal person you will ever meet. they will do anything for you. gives amazing hugs and is great at comforting. can be really scary to be in a fight or debate with. very emotional but always denies it.

Taurus: the best at debating. always sees both sides of an argument, except when it's their argument. super sweet and is the best at cuddling. back rubs are their specialty.

Gemini: super adorable and quirky. they just want to be understood. loves to laugh. great at advice. always super caring and understanding. can be really down on themselves and doubts themselves a lot. the best to go to when upset.

Cancer: always super kind. compliments you a lot. stingy with money, but very generous with their time. loves to talk about themselves. very compassionate. great at conversation.

Leo: has a super loud laugh. has an energy that keeps you happy and interested. being with them is always an adventure. they make anything seem fun. the worst at remembering things. makes everything seem more dramatic than it actually is.

Virgo: know it all, but isn't rude about it. knows how intelligent they are and knows their capabilities. usually into the arts and is in theatre. very funny and has good comedic timing. is rude and sarcastic, but knows when to be serious.

Libra: the absolute best at telling stories. good at keeping you interested and engaged. makes you feel special and important. very childlike. has a weird sense of humor.

Scorpio: very intense. hard to read. good at listening to and understanding your problems. wants you to open up to them but won't ever tell you anything about them. very closed off. will either be really sweet and kind or really sarcastic and distant. no matter what, you always know that they love you. great at comforting and gives amazing pep talks.

Sagittarius: always telling you childhood stories (but they are very entertaining). gets overwhelmed easily. loves to ask questions. really giddy. gets into weird moods. very fun to be with. makes you forget all of your troubles and worries.

Capricorn: makes you feel very safe and protected. good at listening and problem solving. always there for you when you need them. can be weirdly distant at times. good at making you laugh.

Aquarius: very strict with themselves. knows themselves very well. very good at making puns. good at making you feel included and important. good at motivating. can be very standoffish and distant. will act like you are their best friend but then ignore you for a week.

Pisces: very cute. always wants to know how you are and what you are doing. likes to imagine. will take you to really fun places. can be hard to talk to. won't open up to you right away. always knows how to make you smile and how to cheer you up.

[poetrypavement]

Richard

the largest of us was you so unlike your brothers smothered in affection and healed of sinfulness through mother’s eyes a heavenly creature unsunk to low life unafraid of the new century clear poison was quick you a slow degenerate forgot childhood’s lessons and offended to live though at last both clear and befogged of age through mother’s eyes you had already died

[poetrypavement]

Czernobog

clouds, a waxing crescent, and undeserved scorn where are my fields clouds, and light snowfall, and sounds in the dark where are my fields clouds, errant owls, and fog, glorious fog where are my fields

[poetrypavement]

Bielobog

actions, reactions, an all-seeing eye the four winds hide actions, excuses, an unnerving sight four corners tremble actions, recursions, an immovable dream four stars aligned

[acertainmaybe]

More vampires who 300 years later can’t remember what was the truth and what was the lie they told to get out of trouble.

More vampires who are like, “I don’t know, man, I spent most of that decade in an opium den.”

More vampires who weren’t paying attention because they didn’t think it would be important.

More vampires who don’t know because there was lot of conflicting gossip and they don’t want to point any fingers.

More vampires who are just bad at dates. “Back in 1620, or was it 1645, wait, what year is it now?”

More vampires who were on a totally different continent when it happened, so get off their back and stop asking them questions already.

[therainingkiwi]

YES to all of this but also consider: vampires who only remember the most trivial stuff.

“Oh yeah, the only thing I remember about the American Revolution was this nice candlemaker I met sometime, and she was wearing this really cute red shawl…”

“Uhhh I don’t remember much about the fall of Rome but there was this one fucking cobblestone right outside the coliseum…”

[mothmo]

Also consider: vampires who realize three or four hundred years after the fact that they knew someone famous.

Just sits up in bed one night screaming “THAT WAS GEORGE GODDAMN WASHINGTON”

[hannahvardit]

that take-out is going to be freezing by the time it gets home.

[poetrypavement]

@lilune YES

[katrinageist]

When I explain cultural misappropriation to children, I use the example of The Nightmare Before Christmas.  

It’s effective because especially for children, who don’t have enough historical context to understand much of the concept, you can still fully grasp the idea.  

There was nothing wrong with Jack seeing the beauty and differences in Christmas town, it’s when he tried to take what is unique about Christmas town away from those it originally belonged to without understanding the full context of Christmas things is when everything went wrong.

When Jack tries to get the folk of Halloween town to make Christmas gifts for children, etc., children understand that the Halloween town folk do not have the full context for the objects they are making, and they are able to see that the direct repercussions and consequences are very harmful.

[jumpingjacktrash]

what i like about this is the implication that if jack had taken the time to understand christmas town, bringing christmas to halloween town would not have been harmful. that’s how it works, folks. cultural sharing is GOOD, it’s only misappropriation when it’s done in ignorance and disrespect.

[kelseyridge13]

There’s an interesting level here in that Jack tried to understand Christmas town. He could see the magic while he was there, and he did try to explain it that way to citizens of Halloween town.  But they weren’t interested in the kind of life he was describing, so he started “rebranding” Christmas so that it was not like Christmas but was like Halloween. The people of Halloween town, never having actually encountered Christmas, have no way of knowing that what they’re being told about Christmas and “Sandy Claws” is inaccurate. Jack also tried to study Christmas and its culture, though he couldn’t quite get it; eventually, he literally decides to take it for himself, even as he knows it’s not really for him.  He started out feeling sad the others in Halloween town didn’t ‘get it,’ but he then decided it’s not important to fully ‘get it’ but instead to have it.

So it’s not just accidentally removing things form their context; he has intentionally disregard the meaning of the rituals he purports to be recreating, making them more fun for the recreaters but not like what the rituals are supposed to be and without the related significance.

[poetrypavement]

lol omg

[poetrypavement]

Ultimatum

Consider the evidence Ephemera and apparata Automated excrucia And tattered promises Beneath a silent dune Untrustworthy words Stowaway disappointments In a rusting cage Remember the bad times Cut the threads Never make amends Deliver an ultimatum

[poetrypavement]

Open-Again Eyes

unrequited quiet, quite unlike the rest unrepentant equinox, holi powder nest unremembered spring and summer unsunk memoir, glaze-eyed drummer this we all remember with open-again eyes. incandescent burning shore, surely inescapable intolerable music, infinitely shapable indistinct remembrance, grandfather’s folly incredulous lips, more than melancholy this we all remember with open-again eyes.

[poetrypavement]

This Very Day

Haven’t I written to you before? My words were hardly anything, Awash with simple sentiment, They meant the world, though but a small one. Haven’t I heard your name before? Not so many vowels where you were born, Names like storms and discontent, From a far-off, frozen country. Hadn’t I predicted this very day, My cynicism led the way, For hadn’t I known the words you’d whisper? I had known, of course I had.