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David N. Ross

@davidnross.bsky.social
1.1K followers 1.4K following 129 posts

Freelance developer of Pathfinder/Starfinder/D&D books, converter between games, editor, some layout. Myth, sf, fantasy, civics, science Credits: Paizo, AAW, Tom Cartos adventures, etc linktr.ee/davidnross (he/him, mixed Euro/Ojibwe gaymer) 🇨🇦🇺🇸🏳️‍🌈

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David N. Ross @davidnross.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
A perspective on identity, memory, and longing I'd be interested in reading more research about, especially as it affects men... www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/...
psychologytoday.com
Nostalgia for a Time You Never Knew
That familiar pang you get when you think about the past may be a signal that something is missing in the present, and the missing piece is self-authored experience.
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Ada Palmer @adapalmer.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
The world’s largest battery-electric aircraft flew for the first time on the 12th of August, a 27-minute test flight over upstate New York that cost about five dollars in electricity. Heart Aerospace’s 30-seat prototype is a big step toward a commercial version. buff.ly/i3f0PhR #ShareGoodNewsToo
techspot.com
The largest all-electric plane ever flew for 27 minutes, on $5 of electricity
Heart's X1 demonstrator flew for 27 minutes from a regional airport in upstate New York, running on battery power the entire time. The aircraft reached 1,100 feet...
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Democracy Docket @democracydocket.com · 20/09/2026
🗳️ Voting for the 2026 midterms has begun! As the Trump administration ramps up its attacks on voting, it’s time to check your registration status and encourage loved ones to do the same: demdock.com/4gRtE8P
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Dan Sohege @danielsohege.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
There has been a noticeable lack of serious reaction over Turkish persecution of LGBTQIA+ community from the global community. As in many other countries, Türkiye tries to mask persecution by claiming being LGBTQIA+ isn't illegal and then using "obscenity laws". www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
theguardian.com
Turkey detains dozens in crackdown on LGBTQ+ activists and journalists
Protesters teargassed as minister claims widespread raids and arrests under obscenity laws were to ‘protect families’
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Karla Ortiz @kortizart.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
“An astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions” and the “largest theft of labor in human history” is what a Microsoft executive privately said about GenAi as shown in newly unsealed court filings. And these court filings get worse. These execs knew all along the immense theft they committed.
404media.co
‘Doom Loop’: OpenAI and Microsoft Admits LLMs Are Destroying the Web and Built on Theft
"Millions of people around the world will soon consider large models ‘hoovering up’ all their work to be an astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions."
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David N. Ross @davidnross.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
I'm really enjoying the big brawny nerd vibes and gameplay options for the Nuar ancestry in Paizo's new Absalom Station book. 🤓 Kudos to designer @davicthegrey.bsky.social
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David N. Ross @davidnross.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Thanks for a great first season of Starfinder Society for second edition, from me and my fellow Paizo freelance authors! paizo.com/blog/meet-th...
paizo.com
Meet the Authors: Invasion’s Edge | Paizo Blog
<p>Greetings, players! In today’s blog we’d like to take a moment to recognize our talented freelance authors who contributed to the first season of Starfinder Society (Second Edition) scenarios. Some...
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Playtest Material Magazine @playtestmaterial.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Issue Two is OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS AND PITCHES Get them in, people playtestmaterial.org/submit/
playtestmaterial.org
Playtest Material
publishing critical writing about roleplaying games
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Dan Olson @foldablehuman.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Finally some good video game news www.gamespot.com/articles/bli...
gamespot.com
Blizzard Workers Win Historic Union Contract That Could Set A New Standard For Game Developers
Blizzard workers have secured AI guardrails and new protections against layoffs.
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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
I know there are a lot of people who want to make the world better but don’t know where to start so just…don’t. I also know every group I work with that is making the world better is kept afloat by exhausted people who desperately need help. If you’re in group A, please find an org to help group B
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Abdul El-Sayed @abdulelsayed.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
We're being told that if we sacrifice the rights of some people, then the rest of us get to keep our rights. We all know that's some BS.
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MegueyB 🔜Metatopia @megueyb.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Thread, but this is my pull quote. If you’re not actively cultivating training streams to ensure the highly skilled & knowledgeable person who replaces you when you retire/die will be replaced in turn by someone similarly qualified, you’re planning for all your knowledge & skill to die with you.
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Starbucks Workers United @sbworkersunited.org · 25/08/2026
🚨BREAKING: Our union of over 12,000 baristas are officially calling for a Starbucks boycott. Read this statement penned by Starbucks workers on why a boycott from ALL customers, allies, and organizations is necessary to fight back against corporate greed:
BOYCOTT STARBUCKS is written inside a zig-zaggy speech bubble against crumbled paper. Beside it are the Starbucks Workers United logo and an image of a coffee cup being poured out.We, the 12,000 and growing members of Starbucks Workers United, call on everyone who stands with working people to boycott Starbucks until they finalize a contract with union baristas and stop union-busting.
What we’re fighting for is simple: a minimum $17/hr wage, enough hours to live on, better staffing in our stores, and basic workplace protections. Every year, our living costs rise but our wages don’t keep up – a growing pressure many American workers are feeling as corporate greed accelerates unchecked in our country. 
Starbucks is banking on customers' blind loyalty to the integrity and values this company once stood for in order to keep squeezing them for profits. At a time when working-class people across the country are struggling in a challenging economy, it is no longer possible to be both a Starbucks customer and in support of workers; choosing to spend money at Starbucks is choosing a law breaking corporation over the baristas who make your coffee everyday exactly as you ask for it.
Starbucks has violated U.S. labor law more than any other company in modern history–the NLRB and its judges have found that Starbucks committed hundreds of labor violations and there are currently more than 550 unresolved unfair labor practice charges still pending against the company. Instead of finalizing a fair and reasonable union contract, Starbucks has repeatedly demonstrated a lack of care for the workers who fuel the company’s profits by wasting millions of dollars on AI and technology that doesn’t work, launching countless gimmicky drinks designed to distract from real problems, and inventing pointless policies that do nothing but make our jobs harder. 
This ongoing, irrational behavior by Starbucks and its refusal to settle a fair union contract with workers leaves us with no other choice than to call for a boycott. We know when working people stand up together, we win. 
No Contract? No Coffee.
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Evan Greer @evangreer.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Age verification makes everyone less safe. Age verification makes everyone less safe. Age verification makes everyone less safe. Age verification makes everyone less safe. Age verification makes everyone less safe. Age verification makes everyone less safe.
techdirt.com
Hackers Had A Live Feed Of Every ID This Verification Company Scanned. For Over A Year.
From the very beginning of this recent obsession with identifying everyone online (yes, they like to call it "age" verification, but it always ends up as identity verification), we've been pointing out that it was a huge privacy nightmare waiting to happen. Or maybe it wasn't waiting. Maybe it was already happening. This week a...
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Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Officers illegally stopped, detained, and arrested a Navy veteran after he lawfully recorded a traffic stop. Then they tracked him for weeks using Flock Safety cameras. reason.com/2026/09/02/w...
reason.com
Wisconsin cops used Flock over 100 times to track a Navy veteran after he lawfully recorded a traffic stop
A lawsuit claims the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Office used the cameras in retaliation against the vet for exercising his First Amendment right.
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Steve Benen @stevebenen.com · 02/09/2026
Ahead of the midterms, Trump isn’t even being subtle about his brazen politicization of federal disaster relief aid, explicitly tying approvals to campaign endorsements and election results. It’s one of the underappreciated scandals of his second term. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...
ms.now
Trump approves disaster relief funds for 7 red states, after denying aid to blue states
Ahead of the midterm elections, the president isn’t even being subtle about his scandalous politicization of disaster aid.
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Freedom Writers Collaborative @fwcollaborative.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Poll workers are essential to ensure that elections are a success. Check out U.S. Election Assistance Commission's webpage "Become a Poll Worker". Being a poll worker is fun! It's a great feeling to Help America Vote.
dlvr.it
Support our campaign to oppose MAGA extremists
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Mike Hoerger, PhD, MSCR, MBA @michael-hoerger.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
www.forbes.com/sites/judyst...
forbes.com
Covid-19 Cases Surge—Here’s What’s Different This Summer That Will Help
As Covid again increases, these will help you weather or prevent infection: vaccines, masks, Paxlovid, metformin, azelastine, some antihistamines, and Ensitrelvir.
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Keith Ammann 🔜 Gamehole Con @themonstersknow.com · 18/08/2026
The CDC has changed the color coding on its COVID-19 wastewater maps to conceal the virus's prevalence (which is increasing again). Pay attention to the numbers, not the colors.
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Jay Rosen @jayrosen.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
You may know that I try to show newsrooms that they have an alternative to the horse race model in election coverage: "The citizens agenda." It's the campaign season and I am starting to get examples sent to me. Roanoke: roanoke.com/news/local/g... Cascadia: www.cascadiadaily.com/2026/jul/16/...
roanoke.com
What are your top issues in November's elections? Inform Roanoke Times coverage
The Roanoke Times is taking a closer approach to election coverage this fall by asking our audience directly: What do you care about most?
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𝖒𝖚𝖑𝖑 @mudnblood.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Reminder that Firearms existed in Medieval Europe before full plate armour. If you've got a medieval-fantasy setting that features plate armour, it is absolutely NOT immersion-breaking to include early firearms.
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The Author, Séamas O'Reilly @seamas.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Not to be some wild-eyed innocent, but I think it should be slightly bigger news that The Lancet have crunched the numbers and found that Musk's USAID cuts will kill 14 million people. And that's just by 2030. That's 9,600 people a day, every day, until the next world cup rolls around.
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The Hearth Magazine 🌈💜🖤🤍 @thehearthmag.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Submission period is open and we want your pitches! Everyone is welcome but I especially want to hear from folks outside North America, so #RPGSEA, #RPGLATAM, #BIPOC, and other hashtags I haven't seen yet, please check out the Submission guidelines: renaissancedork2.wpcomstaging.com/article-subm...
renaissancedork2.wpcomstaging.com
Article Submissions
Hello! I appreciate your interest in writing for The Hearth Magazine! I’m excited and proud for what this magazine is and will become, and excellent articles are the foundation of that. Article Sub…
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David N. Ross @davidnross.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
I've been designing Pathfinder adaptations of the short, monthly one-shot adventures for the Tom Cartos subscribers for a few years now, but this month marks a big change to writing each adventure for both 5e and Pathfinder myself. I hope y'all enjoy Brawl Under the Blossoms!
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Sarah Doom @scorchadoom.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
If you haven’t read @senfoonglim.bsky.social ‘s interview about the importance of naming designers, it’s here: www.ttrpginsider.news/p/why-ttgda-...
ttrpginsider.news
Why TTGDA is Advocating for Naming Designers instead of Publishers
TTGDA advocates for crediting game designers over publishers. Learn why recognizing creators like Spencer Starke matters for tabletop RPG industry recognition and equity.
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Binary @binarystar.games · 02/08/2026
itch.io/jam/minimali... Starts in a month, ends in 3.
itch.io
Minimalist TTRPG Jam 5
A game jam from 2026-09-01 to 2026-11-01 hosted by Binary Star Games. Make a Thing Right Now V: How are there 5 of these This, for the FIFTH year in a row somehow, is a jam all about primal, elemental...
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🌱Sita Art🌱 Comms open @sitaart.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
I'm not sure if I have any Pathfinder 2e or D&D 5e monster designers that follow me, but if you're interested in co-creating a leshy bestiary with me, shoot me a message with some examples of your work. I'd be happy to pay some upfront for the writing, as well as offer 30% to writing and layout.
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Leiracal @leiracal.bsky.social · 18/08/2025
This concept was introduced to me as "run the dishwasher twice" and was an important part of my executive functioning recovery as well as my path to self-acceptance.
When I was at one of my lowest (mental) points in life, I couldn't get out of bed some days. I had no energy or motivation and was barely getting by.

I had therapy once per week, and on this particular week I didn't have much to 'bring' to the session. He asked how my week was and I really had nothing to say.

'What are you struggling with?' he asked.

I gestured around me and said 'I dunno man. Life.'

Not satisfied with my answer, he said 'No, what exactly are you worried about right now? What feels overwhelming? When you go home after this session, what issue will be staring at you?'

I knew the answer, but it was so ridiculous that I didn't want to say it. I wanted to have something more substantial.
Something more profound.

But I didn't.

So I told him, 'Honestly? The dishes. It's stupid, I know, but the more I look at them the more I CAN'T do them because I'll have to scrub them before I put them in the dishwasher, because the dishwasher sucks, and I just can't stand and scrub the dishes.'

I felt like an idiot even saying it.

What kind of grown ass woman is undone by a stack of dishes? There are people out there with *actual* problems, and I'm whining to my therapist about dishes?

But he nodded in understanding and then said:

'RUN THE DISHWASHER TWICE.'I began to tell him that you're not supposed to, but he stopped me.

'Why the hell aren't you supposed to? If you don't want to scrub the dishes and your dishwasher sucks, run it twice. Run it three times, who cares?! Rules do not exist.'

It blew my mind in a way that I don't think I can properly express.

That day, I went home and tossed my smelly dishes haphazardly into the dishwasher and ran it three times.

I felt like I had conquered a dragon.

The next day, I took a shower lying down.

A few days later. I folded my laundry and put them wherever the fuck they fit.

There were no longer arbitrary rules I had to follow, and it gave me the freedom to make accomplishments again.

Now that I'm in a healthier place, I rinse off my dishes and put them in the dishwasher properly. I shower standing up. I sort my laundry.

But at a time when living was a struggle instead of a blessing, I learned an incredibly important lesson:

THERE ARE NO RULES. RUN THE DISHWASHER TWICE!!!"
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Kelly Whyte @kellywhyte.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Time to announce my next Kickstarter! Sage Council is a card-based #ttrpg where you play as a fantasy town council, dirty tricks are common and competence is rare! Keep one eye on the polls and the other on your purse, as you try to keep your constituents happy. Follow the prelaunch page now!
kickstarter.com
Coming soon: Sage Council
A card-based roleplaying game of local politics and city councils.
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David N. Ross @davidnross.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
I'll be at Gen Con this year with the prototype for my storytelling game Interstellar Incident—find me to try it out, especially if you're a publisher looking for something cooperative, richly narrative, and highly approachable.
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Camilla Zamboni 🔜 Metatopia @czamboni.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Hi all, I am looking for articles, posts, podcasts about: - GMless/GMfull games - worldbuilding games - the practice of hacking in TTRPGs/ LARP Note: I am not necessarily interested in specific games, but rather in pieces that talk *about* these kinds of games and practices. Links are appreciated!
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Indivisible ❌👑 @indivisible.org · 22/07/2026
They could vote any minute. Tell your representative to oppose the NDAA until key provisions on military integration between the US and Israel and the SAVE Act are removed.
SOUND THE ALARM
The House is voting on the
NDAA today and they added a Israel × U.S. military merger
AND the SAVE Act to it!!
CALL YOUR REP NOW AND DEMAND THEY VOTE NO!
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Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association @sfwa.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
SFWA is gearing up to a wealth of work in genre - and we're looking for our next Events Coordinator and Web Contractor to support member and public services. You'll be joining a team dreaming big for writer advocacy, uplift, outreach, and education. Thank you for your consideration and applications!
sfwa.org
Now Hiring: Events Coordinator and Web Contractor - SFWA - The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association
Now Hiring: Open Call for SFWA's Next Executive Director. Read on for full details about the position and requirements.
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Clayton @explorersdesign.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Public Domain Art is the lifeblood of small tabletop rpgs, but it can be a nightmare trying to find the right art and license. This week, I’ve re-uploaded my old list from 2020 (with updates) of public domain websites. That's 500,000+ public domain paintings, photos, maps, and film. Link below 🔗👇
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WIRED @wired.com · 17/07/2026
Yesterday, WIRED learned that Madison Square Garden was suing us for our accurate reporting. We stand by our work. That’s why we’re removing the paywall from two of the MSG stories they don’t want you to read, making them free for everyone.
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Brotherwise Games @brotherwisegames.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
The record-breaking Cosmere RPG is looking for talented freelancers to join our design and narrative teams! Apply! 👇🔗 Core Design Team Member: bit.ly/3RvTFjH Open Call for Freelance Narrative Writers: bit.ly/3R6hzCd Applications are open now and close on August 5th. ⚔️✨
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Electronic Frontier Foundation @eff.org · 13/07/2026
Killing physical discs is just the next step in diminishing your right to own your videogame library. This is how we reclaim digital ownership. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...
eff.org
Sony Nerfs Videogame Ownership
Playstation’s decision to kill physical game discs is the latest attack on our diminishing rights to access and engage with culture digitally. Rent-seeking corporations and negligent lawmakers share
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Bethany Brookshire @beebrookshire.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Good morning. Today is the LAST DAY to comment on the proposed OMB rule that will, honestly, destroy science in the US. And it will do FAR MORE THAN THAT. www.theverge.com/science/9576...
theverge.com
The war against ‘woke’ could end US science as we know it
‘Everyone will be affected, not just scientists. Every community in the country.’
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Janna Sophia 🏔️ @jannaphia.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
Please help me finish my thesis so I can finally be free of academia 🫶✨ aidetectionsurvey.carrd.co
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The Scholarly Kitchen @scholarlykitchen.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
The OMB Guidance Revision Threatens All Research scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2026/07/10/t...
scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org
The OMB Guidance Revision Threatens All Research - The Scholarly Kitchen
The OMB proposed revision is about all research — and humanities research is just as vulnerable as STEM.
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WIRED @wired.com · 07/07/2026
As part of Meta’s Muse Image model rollout, Instagram users with public accounts need to opt out to block AI generations of their content. www.wired.com/story/meta-n...
wired.com
Meta Now Lets Anyone Use Your Instagram Photos in AI Images—Unless You Opt Out
As part of Meta’s Muse Image model rollout, Instagram users with public accounts need to opt out to block AI generations of their content.
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United Videogame Workers-CWA @videogameworkers.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Proud to announce our HARDSHIP FUND: uvw-cwa.org/hardship-fun... If you've been recently laid off and need support, we got you.
A red poster with a white logo (a polygonal heart lifted by 2 hands) and the title "United Videogame Workers – Hardship Fund", followed by this copy:

"UVW-CWA stands for every game worker: for those still employed and fighting for union contracts and those who have been callously treated as disposable by executives who've never shipped a title. 

We are proud to announce our launch of a hardship fund for game workers across the US and Canada who have been subjected to layoffs. If you are a game worker in need of support, please apply."

Below the text is a link to the initiative (as in the post) and the UVW-CWA logo.
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Nathan Dowdell, not cool enough to look away from explosions. @n01h3r3.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
@modiphius.bsky.social has a job opening for a Game Designer at our game design studio in Nottingham. Details at the link below: modiphius.net/pages/jobs
modiphius.net
Jobs
Massive selection of roleplaying games, wargames, board games, card games, co-op games, miniatures, novels, dice and accessories for Fallout, Star Trek Adventures, Elder Scrolls, Alien, Conan, Achtung...
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Paul Czege @paulczege.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
No maker of anything knows it meant something to you if you didn't tell them.
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Minærva McJanda 🔜Metatopia @minahoneybat.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Yeah, turn this off ASAP. Also important to note – each image they 'describe' uses an 'AI credit' from your plan, and if you run out of credits? They'll charge you for the extra ones they used without even asking you if you wanted them.
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Hare 🍉 @haredurer.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
DHS murdered two of my neighbors and covered it up.
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Alan @gammacounter.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
6 years of research: "The only trait that consistently predicted objections to remote work was narcissism—the tendency to be self-centered & entitled. The higher the opinions of themselves leaders expressed, the more they coveted power and status—& the more they favored return-to-office mandates."
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Stout Stoat @stoutstoat.co.uk · 06/07/2026
For every lovely repost or review, there are five more filled with personal grudges, death threats or motivated by bigoted hate. It's intimidating to create anything because the internet can feel like such a vitriolic cesspit. It's even harder to wade through it when without a team behind you.
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jeeyon shim 심지연 @jeeyon.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
It's not too late to call your reps to vote NO on KOSA, and if you like being able to sign on to the internet without entering your driver's license or passport number, it's crucial that you do! I left a message over the weekend and called again for good measure today. I hope you do the same!
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Not Writing Games @notwritinggames.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
It's the last day of Pride Support a trans lesbian indie game designer Get a game about delving into the tombs of the rich undead to kill them again For like $2 Win-Win
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