Goldkin @Goldkin@awoo.space

Third, stay calm. It’s really easy to panic if you or a friend gets targeted. Step back, go offline for awhile if you need to, and make a plan to get through it. It’s going to be okay.

Some people, even people you care about, will fall for it. Reach out to people that haven’t and set up a support network for yourself. It’s often really easy to feel like everything is falling apart, but it isn’t.

Also, get yourself a therapist if you can. Seriously. It helps.

Second, don’t try to publicly refute the attackers or any online mobs they send your way. Protect yourself first. http://www.crashoverridenetwork.com provides actionable info that you can use to audit your online presence and handle being targeted.

Especially good here: get yourself a security key for your personal email. If you use Gmail, you can also set up Google Advanced Protection on your accounts: https://landing.google.com/advancedprotection/

Hey, so, a few words about disinfo campaigns, because I’m seeing a lot of people I know targeted as they flee birdsite or end up in the crosshairs of Internet hate groups:

First, trust but verify. If you can’t source a claim to a credible source, distrust it or at least remain skeptical. Quite a few hate groups launder fake info through seemingly credible websites and whisper campaigns, and it’s worth not trusting those until credible evidence comes forward.

@mawr !!!!!

I flag this “-“ because it’s been difficult to even follow along with. I know too many people who have suffered what she has — being seen as nothing more than an object by powerful men. And watching those same powerful men try to control the narrative in any way they can to discredit her _now_ has been the hardest part of watching this.

Fuck anyone that tries to sweep abuse under the rug to retain power. I know this won’t stop that from happening, but I hope her words send a powerful message.

I’ve had to mostly disengage from the daily horrible for my own emotional well-being, but some notes on Dr. Ford’s testimony today:

I cannot fathom how hard it must be to relive her trauma in front of the whole world, through a process engineered in extremely bad faith against her. I cannot imagine the resolve and poise that she must have, even when she knows that her detractors are doing everything they can to put her on trial, to tell her story.

Bless her for what she is doing.

As someone that also works in infosec for the past decade, I especially appreciate how it models computer viruses as tiny nanotech machines that physically interact with each network. It’s a good blend between how self-replicating code actually works and how it’s imagined.

Also, the puzzles are really good, especially when you go out of bounds to investigate the rest of what’s inside each network?

I’m about a month behind on picking up Exapunks (Zachtronics’ latest puzzle game), but it is really good.

Its reimagined 90s cyberpunk dystopian fantasy invokes all the right nostalgia for me. I also really like how its “manuals” are sourced from 2600 magazine and other zines that are still around today.

The only thing I wish it had (maybe later?) is a shout-out to old Winamp visualizers like Whitecap, sitting adjacent to its IRC window and puzzle interface, to set the tone.

@porsupah Happy to be here! ^..^

@glip A quote that’s stuck with me, in re, social media:

“Maybe our problem right now is that we are caught in the uncanny valley of interpersonal communication” (source: https://twitter.com/AstroKatie/status/984606232408461313)

It certainly feels that way. This also seems to overlap with when services (incl social media, games, etc) started to switch over to algorithmic matchmaking instead of self-governed communities.

Which makes me think people should be doing admin instead of computers.

@noiob Celeste’s playlist is too powerful. At least, that’s my headcanon for this error.

@Thaminga Seriously, though, Masto is good, pooltoy Masto more so.

@Thaminga Masto: Oh cool, Mario Kart is trending.
Twitter: Oh cool, Mario Kart is... OH GODS WHY.

Omg, Animal Crossing Switch in 2019! Aaaaaaaa

That’s all I’ve got. Thank you for reading. 💜