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    1. Got my hands on a Steam Frame. Can't use it much for not having prescription lenses yet, but AMA

      I promised in another thread that I would share more about my first impressions about the Steam Frame soon, so here I am. There's still not much I can say because, in my case, using glasses inside...

      I promised in another thread that I would share more about my first impressions about the Steam Frame soon, so here I am.

      There's still not much I can say because, in my case, using glasses inside isn't an option. But whatever questions you have and couldn't find answers anywhere else, let me know and I can check for you (be it settings, small things no one thinks about, etc)

      I'll be recycling a bit what I already said in the other comment (with a few corrections), but here goes my first impressions and some thoughts:

      • I said in the other comment that the spacer for the glasses was disappointing, but that's actually not true. To be fair, they do their job. The glasses should be as close as possible to your face anyway, and you can't have too much space between your face and the lenses in the VR, so the spacer does give you a bit more space that should be enough for most/all people. I was able to confirm that both my new glasses and my old ones do not touch the lenses. That said, I still wouldn't play a VR game that needs me to move a lot, the risk of them coming loose and scratching the lenses isn't null.

      • My problem with the glasses is different. My new glasses are too wide. They barely fit inside and put a lot of pressure on my face, I think it's the sides of the VR that push the glasses against my face.

      • So yeah, if you use glasses, I highly recommend getting prescription lenses (this also applies to any VR headset, but still).

      • I was able to run on the Frame: Ace Combat 7, Hades 2, Dragon Commander and Dispatch. All of them were playable (Ace Combat 7 was a pleasant surprise!). Dragon Commander technically ran well, but it didn't recognize the controllers.

      • There's a tab for Steam Frame verified games, but you can download anything from your library. Cyberpunk 2077? Knock yourself out. Will it run well? Nope, but it does run.

        • Sidenote: the new proton for ARM processors make me hopeful that laptops with ARM processors could become a viable alternative to traditional ones (I mean besides macbooks)
      • Speaking of controllers, they're MUCH better than Meta Quest 3's. The layout of a conventional controller means that they can be used as such. Furthermore, at any moment you can activate the "pointer", which turns the respective controller into a mouse (while the other remains a controller). Meaning if you have a game where sometimes you need a mouse, Steam Frame has you covered.

      • I got the ergonomic kit because of the controller straps, but as for the headset itself, I'll be the contrarian against the rest of the internet and say that those extra pieces actually aren't necessary. Or at least, not as ABSOLUTELY necessary as people make it look like. The space between the headset and my nose is not sealed, true, but unless I get conscious about that "hole", I won't notice it. I also felt that the top strap isn't necessary, the headset feels firmly held against my head.

        • That said, let me admit a few things: I didn't play a VR game yet, so maybe "firmly held" could be a different story in that scenario. And for a 1k euro device, there's an argument to be made that these ergonomic accessories should've been included by default, which I wholeheartedly agree. The nose thing, might have to do with my head shape, might not, I don't know; I just felt that whenever I was looking at the "screen" inside, I didn't notice the "hole" down below.
      • The battery is... Underwhelming. Be prepared to get a good powerbank if you plan to have mid-long sessions.

      • I tried using the wireless adapter on my gaming desktop (running Fedora 44), and it looks like it worked! Pleasant surprise, as I was under the impression it didn't work on Linux yet.

      • Streamed Red Dead Redemption 2 for a bit. Rockstar launcher popped up so I could validate my account.... Except this window didn't appear on the SF, only on my PC's monitor. On the SF, I wasn't able to change windows, I only got a black screen. Once I entered the game, I could hear the sounds of the intro playing but the screen was still black. After fiddling a bit inside the VR, I managed to make it show the game itself, then I was able to play it normally.

        • This is to say, "window management" inside a game is finicky. So games with their own launchers? Expect them be as annoying here as they are in general...
          • Caveat: only tried one game in this condition (opening launchers/windows alongside the game), so it's possible it was just bad luck and not representative.
      • (copy pasted from the other comment) the update process (that you're forced to do) was really slow - the download would top at 10mb/s, but on average it was on the kb/s.

      • (copy pasted from the other comment) The environment is really polished - more than the Steam Deck it looks like. I like how from inside Steam "app" itself, I can open the desktop mode as if it was an application. I don't have bluetooth keyboards but I think it should be possible to use this as a normal PC, which is really cool.

      • (copy pasted from the other comment) Just like the Steam Deck, you have control over almost everything. Hardware usage, screen framerates, etc.

      Some basic comparisons against the Meta Quest 3:

      • Unlike MQ 3, the SF works just fine in any kind of environment, even if it's pitch black. Side note: it's a bit mesmerizing checking out the LIDAR's and Face ID's lights from my iphone. This thing is unironically a really good device to spot hidden cameras.

      • YMMV, but for me the lack of colors in the passthrough isn't a big deal. I spend most of the time "inside" the virtual world and barely used it on MQ3, only for when someone was calling for me - or my cats. But even then, 95% of the time I would just take the headset off if whatever was demanding my attention wasn't quick. Talking to people with it on your head is weird af (especially for the other person). What I'm trying to say is that there were never situations where I needed to see the world around me and it needed to be in colours; I would just take the headset off in those cases.

        • Caveat: 1k euros device, I get it. It's dumb that you still need to fork over another 100 euros just to get colours. And I guess it's not a good thing for AR games.
      • The SF is a bit smaller, lighter, and it's more comfortable imo. The idea to move the battery to the back of the head was smart, I think long sessions with SF should be more comfortable.

      • MQ 3 has hand gesture recognition while SF doesn't. But personally, I don't really care. On MQ 3 this feature is finicky, frustrating to use, it's annoying when I'm watching movies/videos, and more importantly, it makes me want to throw the headset against the wall (exaggeration for comedic effect). So for me it's not a huge loss.

      • If you feel that after these impressions I'm biased against the MQ3, well.... You're not wrong, but I just realized that it feels like I'm defending SF too much and criticizing MQ3 too easily while writing this. I'm biased against it mainly for privacy reasons, but on a hardware level, MQ3 is a great headset in its own right. It's equivalent to SF and costs a lot less. If you don't care about privacy, you probably should go for it instead of the SF.

      Feel free to ask me anything about the Steam Frame and if I can check it out for you, I will.

      12 votes
    2. What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga)

      What have you been watching and reading this week? You don't need to give us a whole essay if you don't want to, but please write something! Feel free to talk about something you saw that was...

      What have you been watching and reading this week? You don't need to give us a whole essay if you don't want to, but please write something! Feel free to talk about something you saw that was cool, something that was bad, ask for recommendations, or anything else you can think of.

      If you want to, feel free to find the thing you're talking about and link to its pages on Anilist, MAL, or any other database you use!

      5 votes
    3. Anyone have any ketogenic diet stories?

      Good or bad, I'm interested I got into fasting back in like 2019 maybe a bit earlier I forget, I was watching some some crazy dumb shit like snake diet, but it seemed to work for weight loss, but...

      Good or bad, I'm interested

      I got into fasting back in like 2019 maybe a bit earlier I forget, I was watching some some crazy dumb shit like snake diet, but it seemed to work for weight loss, but I never changed my eating so when I stopped fasting I gained all the weight back, in 2020 or 2021 I tried carnivore diet, but I went into psychosis (I have mental health issues) and I thought god wanted me to eat with my family so I started eating what they eat (which is mostly SAD junk) and I gained all my weight back

      In maybe 2024 or 2025 I forget, I started watching a bunch of self help stuff, and one of the creators I watched on YouTube was Dr k (healthygamerGG) and with that I started meditating and trying to prioritize "sativik" foods, so for breakfast I would eat something like oatmeal with turmeric and cumin and vegetables, and I lost some weight on that diet, but I fell out of that routine and returned to SAD junk and gained all the weight back and then some

      Last April I hit 300 pounds, the most I ever weighed, and it was a wakeup call, what really told me it was a problem might seem silly but its because my bicycle has a 300 pound weight limit lol

      I decided to try carnivore again, but this time I slowly transitioned into it, because in 2021 when I tried it, I went from SAD one day to Carnivore the next and god dman I had diarrhea for 30 days lol, so this time I simply started by buying 2 cases of sardines and adding in a can every day at lunch, slowly removing other foods and adding in meat and eggs, I was probably fully carnivore by may 1st

      For the first 30 days, probably all of may, I ate eggs in the morning, can fish at lunch and a pound of meat at dinner, until I got a KetoMojo (glucometer) around the 30 day mark, I was expecting super low glucose and super high ketones since I was eating carnivore for 30 days at this point, but its not what I seen, my fasting glucose was (ever so slightly) high and my ketones were constantly between 0.8 and 0.9 (at least they were rock steady I guess)

      But as I was seeing these measurements for a few days I had also stumbled upon the medibolic mind YouTube channel and people using ketogenic diets for mental health issues, so I figured let's try a medical keto diet

      medical keto diets are actually kinda hard to find any info on, but as far as I can tell they seem to be really simple, you can boil them down to a ratio, like 2:1 or 3:1, so I chose 2:1, so for every 1 part protein + carb I eat, I would eat 2 parts fat

      So for example if I ate 70g protein and 15g carbs, i would need to eat 170g fat, which is kinda harder then it sounds, I feel sorry for epileptics who need to eat 3:1 or 4:1 every single day and never fucking up to control seizures, you basically need to chug 35% cream to hit those numbers

      So added in fat bombs I'd make with nut butter and tallow to increase my fatI play around with what I add but I may do something like melt tallow in a pot, whisk in some stevia and and cacao to taste (basically a chocolate bar but tallow In stead of cacao butter) pour into a foil lined dish, drop in a few whole nuts for crunch and sprinkle some salt, and then freeze, eat straight from the freezer and top with some but butter

      I also lowered my protein, I would try to aim for between 70 and 80 grams a day, and I loosened up and ate some vegetables, technically fruit, stuff like tomato and cucumber and olives and peppers, (I love a horiatiki)

      From the beginning of April till about the end of august I dropped from 300 pounds to 255, this probably wasn't diet all alone, because I went from completely sedentary, I would almost never leave my room, to walking the dog for hours a day, and lifting weight once or twice a week, being in heavy ketosis just increased my NEAT (non exercise activity) like I would find myself just jumping up from.the couch for no reason, and I started to roll with it and do stuff

      In September I started eating the wild fruit that grew around town, crab apples, wild sour grapes, chokecherries, hawthorn fruit, nanyberries I basically take a picture of every plant I find and my phone tells me what it is (plant.net) and then I google uses for the plant, I also tried many teas, mint, lemon balm, wild bergmot, catnip (all those are mint family), goldenrod, rosehips

      But since I started eating the stuff I find on the ground my weight stalled, I went from 255 in august to 257 as of right now, I also had some other effect, my scalp got itchy again, my armpits got more smelly, more aches and pains I notice, I feel more exhausted from my walks, some of this like the scalp and smell may be candida or something idk, others might be inflammation or negative effects from constantly switching between normal metabolism and ketosis

      Oh and the heart burn, before I started (pre-april) I had VERY BAD heartburn, like it would keep me up in the night, I would.sleep with a bottle of water/baking soda solution beside my bed so when the heartburn woke me up I could drink it, this was going on for like a year maybe, the main driver was sugar, when I ate a sweet it would.act up, but I couldn't stop eating sweets, but when I started carnivore it got dramatically better fast, fat would still trigger it a bit, but sugar was like a 8/10 pain and fat was 2/10 pain, but after some time the fat even stopped hurting, and now I never have heart burn anymore, even if I eat the fruit like I have been, which would have preciously been horrible pain

      Oh and some other things, i try not to drink coffee often, I have gone months without coffee at all, but the last 3 weeks I have had some more then I'd like, I need to start tapering it again, and ditto for tea, even when I had no coffee at all I'd have tea once or twice a week so I wasnt completely no caffeine

      If you like rap music check out Inpatients album Asylum, its Ren and Chris Webby, Ren is one of my favourites, Chris Webby has made some controversial statements but as a Millennial that grew up in the before times I'm not about canceling people

      What's your keto story?

      14 votes
    4. How to get better at academic writing quickly?

      Working on my graduate degree and desperately need to get better at writing. I want to write and publish a lot but my grammar and general style is quite bad. The allure of AI is forever present...

      Working on my graduate degree and desperately need to get better at writing. I want to write and publish a lot but my grammar and general style is quite bad. The allure of AI is forever present but I resist it to maintain my own skill.

      11 votes
    5. Who gets the Steam Frame? Did Valve pick you for the first wave?

      There are certainly a few people here, who will be buying Steam Frame VR headset. I enlisted myself a few days ago for the first wave lottery reservations. After a bit of thought, I also enlisted...

      There are certainly a few people here, who will be buying Steam Frame VR headset.

      I enlisted myself a few days ago for the first wave lottery reservations. After a bit of thought, I also enlisted my daughter, to double my chances from almost 0% to double of that but still near zero in my eyes.

      A few minutes ago I got e-mail. I'm on waiting list after first wave goes out... Well, maybe this year?

      My daughter checked her e-mail as well. And what do you know? Doubling of the chances paid off and the chance was actually higher than near 0% - her account got picked by Valve! It seems we are getting the headset in upcoming days/weeks.

      Now the question is: Should we get the head and handstraps also? I think we should. But I don't knowbif I should get also new foam/seal. I'm not spending 170€ on color camera, at least not for now.

      Sorry for this kind of post, we are just so happy and I wanted to share the happiness. I hope some of you got on the list for first wave as well.

      48 votes
    6. What programming/technical projects have you been working on?

      This is a recurring post to discuss programming or other technical projects that we've been working on. Tell us about one of your recent projects, either at work or personal projects. What's...

      This is a recurring post to discuss programming or other technical projects that we've been working on. Tell us about one of your recent projects, either at work or personal projects. What's interesting about it? Are you having trouble with anything?

      4 votes
    7. I don’t feel like I’m a creative person. How could I fix that and get ideas?

      I don’t think I’m very creative when it comes to making semi artistic/practical real world things. The summum of my creative abilities is devising CAD models for 3D printing practical simple parts...

      I don’t think I’m very creative when it comes to making semi artistic/practical real world things. The summum of my creative abilities is devising CAD models for 3D printing practical simple parts I need to improve/fix things. Not nothing, but not super artsy either.

      I currently live in an apartment I don’t like and can’t move out of (life is complicated).

      A big part of my dislike of this appartment is that it’s under the roof so it has slanted ceilings and these gigantic wooden pillars right in the middle of most rooms. This make the space cramped and very hard to use.

      I’d like to find a way to pimp these columns up so they don’t annoy me as much. But… how would I get ideas?

      All I could think of is making it into some kind of tribal totem, but I have no vision for what it’d look like nor how would I do it in practice. And preferably with upcycled or thrifted materials because I’m not investing in this place I’m renting. Also has to be fully removable for the same reason. A few holes are ok but I can’t glue things that will peel the paint or leave marks.

      My general question is this: people who find cool ways of hijacking things or decorating, where do you find inspiration? How do you get ideas? Is there some sort of method for someone like me who doesn’t get it “naturally”?

      23 votes
    8. Save Point: A game deal roundup for the week of September 27

      Add awesome game deals to this topic as they come up over the course of the week! Alternately, ask about a given game deal if you want the community’s opinions: e.g. “What games from this bundle...

      Add awesome game deals to this topic as they come up over the course of the week!

      Alternately, ask about a given game deal if you want the community’s opinions: e.g. “What games from this bundle are most worth my attention?”

      Rules:

      • No grey market sales
      • No affiliate links

      If posting a sale, it is strongly encouraged that you share why you think the available game/games are worthwhile.


      All previous Save Point topics

      If you don’t want to see threads in this series, add save point to your personal tag filters.

      6 votes
    9. What's your anime of the season? | Summer 2026 (June - Sept)

      Another season of anime has (mostly) ended. Inspired by @Flashfall 's excellent seasonal review in an earlier weekly threads, I thought it'd be interesting to hear about everyone's overall...

      Another season of anime has (mostly) ended. Inspired by @Flashfall 's excellent seasonal review in an earlier weekly threads, I thought it'd be interesting to hear about everyone's overall experiences.

      So, what's the best anime you've watched over the last 3 months? Doesn't have to be one released this season, as long as you've recently watched them. Seeing how the old and new compare to each other could also be interesting.

      You can mention which other ones you've also watched so others know what the comparison was. It's also okay if you've only seen one since the fact you liked it enough to highlight is still noteworthy.

      1 vote
    10. What is your dream game?

      I've had plenty of fun conversations with friends about this topic and figure all you Tilders would have some interesting ideas/thoughts. Are there any games that you've always wished for? Has...

      I've had plenty of fun conversations with friends about this topic and figure all you Tilders would have some interesting ideas/thoughts.

      • Are there any games that you've always wished for?
      • Has there been a game that captured your imagination but fell short in one or more areas?
      • Have you ever wanted to smash elements from two or more games together?

      Don't let budgetary/IP constraints ruin your dreams here!

      32 votes
    11. Tildes Minecraft Weekly - Final Thread for Season 3

      Server host: tildes.nore.gg (Running Java 26.2) Verification site: https://tildes.nore.gg BlueMap: https://tildes.nore.gg/map/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TildesMC Plugins and Data Packs Data...

      Server host: tildes.nore.gg (Running Java 26.2)
      Verification site: https://tildes.nore.gg
      BlueMap: https://tildes.nore.gg/map/
      Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TildesMC

      Plugins and Data Packs Data Packs:
      • Age Lock [Vanilla Tweaks]
      • Armor Statues [Vanilla Tweaks]
      • Bat Membranes [Vanilla Tweaks]
      • Cauldron Concrete [Vanilla Tweaks]
      • Cauldron Mud [Vanilla Tweaks]
      • Custom Nether Portals [Vanilla Tweaks]
      • Husks Drop Sand [Vanilla Tweaks]
      • Mini Blocks [Vanilla Tweaks]
      • More Mob Heads [Vanilla Tweaks]
      • Nullscape - End terrain upgrade
      • Player Head Drops [Vanilla Tweaks]
      • Renewable Dragon Stuff
      • Silence Mobs [Vanilla Tweaks]
      • Terralith - Overworld terrain upgrade
      • Wandering Trades [Vanilla Tweaks]

      Plugins:

      • BlueMap - Provides a live 3D rendering of the game world
      • Clickable Links - Makes http URLs in chat clickable (only for registered players)
      • CoreProtect - Records all block/container/mob changes (Anyone can look up changes with /co inspect)
      • DebugStick - Gives the ability to craft debug sticks in survival
      • EasyArmorStands - GUI for editing armor stands
      • GSit - Sit on stairs/slabs!
      • Hexnicks - Enables Tildes usernames to be displayed
      • hsrails - Allows for 4x speed rail travel
      • LuckPerms - Locks down unregistered users
      • Otherside - Fix for mob farms involving Nether portals
      • Rapid Leaf Decay - Increases the speed of leaf decay by 10x
      • WorldEdit - Used for occasional admin stuff
      • WorldGuard - Prevents unregistered users from changing anything in the world

      The server operates on a soft whitelist. Anyone can log in and walk around, but you need a Tildes account to gain build access.


      We recommend you install our mod web-chat so that you can chat while in your web browser. It turns the server into an old-school chat room.

      <- Previous Thread

      23 votes
    12. Announcing the eighth annual Tildes' Make Something Month (Timasomo)!

      Timasomo is "Tildes' Make Something Month": a creative community challenge that takes place in the month of October. This is its eighth year, so I guess you could say WE ATE EIGHT. The best way to...

      Timasomo is "Tildes' Make Something Month": a creative community challenge that takes place in the month of October.

      This is its eighth year, so I guess you could say WE ATE EIGHT.

      The best way to get a feel for Timasomo is to check out our previous Showcase topics, where creators share their creations with the community at the end of the event:

      There are no hard and fast rules on what you can create. You can make anything!

      All of the Timasomo topics will be over in ~creative.timasomo, so if you're interested in participating or following along, make sure you're subscribed there.

      All people who respond to this topic will be added to a notification list that I will ping each time I put up a new Timasomo topic. If you do not wish to be added to the list, or you wish to only be notified for the final Timasomo showcase, please let me know.

      The Roll Call thread will be posted in ~creative.timasomo on October 1st. That is the official beginning to the event and is where people will formally commit to their projects for Timasomo.


      FAQs

      What is Timasomo really though?

      Timasomo is a chance to create something/anything!

      There are no restrictions on what you can choose to make.

      Can I participate?

      Yes! Timasomo is open to anyone on Tildes! Please make sure you are subscribed to ~creative.timasomo.

      The greater Tildes community is also encouraged to participate in discussion threads even if you are not actively working towards a creative goal. This is meant to be an inclusive community event -- all are welcome!

      If you are interested in participating but do not have a Tildes login, please e-mail the invite request address here for an invite to the community.

      If you do not want to create something but still want to check out the showcase, let me know in a comment here and I will add your name to a separate notification list that I will ping for the showcase topic only.

      How do I sign up?

      Make sure you are subscribed to ~creative.timasomo and/or are included in my notification list (simply comment on this topic to be added).

      On October 1st, there will be a Roll Call thread. By posting your plans to participate in that thread, you have formally signed up for Timasomo!

      Didn't it used to be in November?

      Yes. Timasomo was originally inspired by NaNoWriMo, the National Novel Writing Month, which takes place in November.

      Initially, I wanted people participating in NaNoWriMo to be able to share their work with Timasomo as well. In the entire time it has run, however, no participant has publicly submitted any work from NaNoWriMo to Timasomo. Instead, Timasomo has gained its own identity independent of NaNoWriMo (which, after recent events, is probably for the best).

      Many participants from previous years have shared that October would be a better month for them personally, so we moved the event to October.

      Also, the event was so fantastically popular that it regularly upstaged American Thanksgiving, thus we only felt it fair that Canadian Thanksgiving be targeted as well.

      What are the rules?

      Timasomo is self-driven and its goals are self-selected.

      On October 1st, participants will commit to a creative project (or projects) that they plan to complete within the month of October.

      There is no restriction on the methods/products of creativity: writing, painting, code, food, photos, crafts, songs -- if it's creative expression for you, it works for Timasomo!

      Though most will be participating individually, collaborations are welcome too!

      What is the schedule?

      Timasomo begins October 1st and ends October 31st.

      All creative output towards your goal(s) should be confined to this time.

      This week prior to the start of October is for planning. There will be a few days at the beginning of November given to "finishing touches" before we have our final thread, which will be a showcase of all the completed works.

      Below are the dates that I will be posting weekly threads:

      Wednesday, October 1, 2024: Roll Call Thread
      Wednesday, October 8, 2024: Update Thread #1
      Wednesday, October 15, 2024: Update Thread #2
      Wednesday, October 22, 2024: Update Thread #3
      Wednesday, October 29, 2024: Final Update Thread
      Wednesday, November 5, 2024: Timasomo Showcase Thread

      Do I have to share my creation(s) publicly?

      Tildes is a privacy-respecting site, and you are not obligated to share your creation here if you do not want to. We'd still love to hear about it though, if you're willing to share process and details!

      Is it Timasomo or TiMaSoMo?

      Either.

      I personally use "Timasomo" because I think it looks cleaner and because too much time on the internet has made my brain incapable of reading "TiMaSoMo" as anything other than sarcasm, but go with whichever you prefer.

      The best option, however, is “𝑻𝑰𝑴𝑨𝑺𝑶𝑴𝑶” for reasons that are self-evident.


      This Topic: Planning!

      Post your ideas.

      Give feedback to others.

      Set up collaborations.

      Ask questions.

      Everything in this thread is non-commital! Bounce around ideas and figure out what you'd like to do in our communal brainstorming session.

      Also, please do NOT start work on your project yet! Stage setting, planning, and other preparations are allowed (e.g. getting supplies/materials, setting up workspaces, etc.), but save the creation initiation for the 1st.

      Get excited for another GREAT Timasomo!

      45 votes
    13. Screenless Day discussion topic: September 2026

      The Reboot! I used to run a series of "Screenless Day" monthly posts that were aimed at nudging people to put a short pause on the toxic aspects of tech in their life. They never got much...

      The Reboot!

      I used to run a series of "Screenless Day" monthly posts that were aimed at nudging people to put a short pause on the toxic aspects of tech in their life. They never got much traction, but it was also hard to tell if people were participating because they wouldn't necessarily be here commenting on it and would instead be, you know, off doing other things.

      There has been some renewed interest in the idea recently, so I decided to reboot the series and see how it goes now (especially because the wider tech landscape is arguably worse than it was back when I first started them).

      The spirit of Screenless Day remains the same as it always has been:

      a simple event aimed at encouraging people to take a temporary step away from toxic or consuming aspects of technology and spend their time and energies elsewhere

      Anyone can choose to take a Screenless Day at any time, but the idea is to nudge people towards doing it over the first weekend of the month. Each new discussion topic will go live on the first Friday of the month, and it will remain open for the duration of the month.

      It is strongly encouraged that you talk about your Screenless Day here, as part of the fun of the event is that, even though you might be doing something independently, your actions fit into a larger community picture of other people here sharing the same values.

      Also, to promote both reflection and discussion on the goals of Screenless Day, each month I will be including a new discussion question to provide people the opportunity to reflect on their relationship with technology and keep the topic more “alive” and visible.


      This Month

      In addition to the once again regularly scheduled Screenless Day, there are a couple of housekeeping things for our first month back:

      1. Building a notification list.

      I will be building a notification list to be pinged each time a monthly Screenless Day topic goes up. Anyone commenting in this topic will be included by default. If you do NOT want to be included in the list, please let me know in your comment.

      1. Changing the name?

      "Screenless Day" can be a bit misleading (see the FAQ below), so I'm open to other name ideas. Everything I can come up with tends to sound negative however (e.g. "Pause Toxic Tech" day or something), and I want the name to be a simple but positive one.


      Monthly Discussion

      Use this topic to:

      1. Talk about your plans for an upcoming Screenless Day.
      2. Tell everyone what you chose to do for your Screenless Day, and how it went.
      3. Reflect on your relationship with technology.

      This month's discussion question:

      • Of all the tech you use in your life, what platform/app/device/etc do you feel has the most overall negative impact on you? Why do you think that is?

      FAQ

      What is a Screenless Day?

      A "Screenless Day" is a simple event aimed at encouraging people to take a temporary step away from toxic or consuming aspects of technology and spend their time and energies elsewhere.

      When is it?

      A new discussion topic will go up on the first Friday of each month, with participants encouraged to make one of their days that weekend a "Screenless Day."

      The topic remains open for the whole month, so people can choose to take Screenless Days whenever they like and talk about them in that month's discussion.

      Does it have to be truly "screenless"?

      "Screenless" is an ideal, not a mandate.

      The spirit of the day is to deliberately step away from toxic or consuming aspects of technology, and what that means is different for each person. Thus, it is up to each participant to determine what "screenless" means to them. Some might only choose to not use social media for a day; some might choose to eliminate all "screens" but still use their ereader; some may maintain some screen use but only for necessity (e.g. work; classes; GPS; etc.). Some might get rid of screens entirely, or go fully "unplugged" for the day.

      How do I participate?

      You do not have to do anything formal at all to participate -- simply make your Screenless Day happen in whatever way is best for you!

      If you’d like to, use this thread to share plans for your upcoming Screenless Day or summaries/reflections about it once it’s over.

      Can I chat in this thread if I'm not doing a Screenless Day myself?

      Yes! The more, the merrier! Discussion from anyone, participant or non-participant alike, is welcome. Though, do understand that it might take a bit longer than normal for some people to respond. :)

      36 votes
    14. Trolley problem, again

      Hi! I just watched the TV show Widow's Bay (highly recommended). One episode explored the classic trolley problem and got my mind rolling over its fascinating nuances. I see this problem was...

      Hi!

      I just watched the TV show Widow's Bay (highly recommended). One episode explored the classic trolley problem and got my mind rolling over its fascinating nuances. I see this problem was already discussed on tildes, but hope a 2026 revisit is worthwhile.

      The episode promoted not pulling the lever. It argued that we can't stop all the horrible things that happen in the world. But we can control our own moral status:

      "The runaway trolley is life. The lever is me... if I pull that lever it's a choice and I'm choosing to kill that person. I could never do that."

      and this lovely message:

      "The world is violent and mercurial. It will have its way with you…We live in a perpetually burning building, and what we must save from it all the time is love."

      As sweet as that is, I find that interpretation lacking. To me, the physical act of pulling the lever isn't the core moral signal. Not pulling it isn't a get-out-of-responsibility-free card. There's still a violent outcome. That outcome happened because you made the choice to allow it. While you're not responsible for the scenario, you're still responsible for the outcome because it was entirely on you what the result would be.

      I think my interpretation matches the "utilitarian" argument, which also hints at "the ends justify the means." I'm not, more generally, willing to get behind "the ends justify the means". But there is important nuance here. Sometimes we must cause harm for greater good and inaction in hard circumstances is its own moral trap. So I'm not sure what I think.

      Also enjoyed exploring the variants at https://neal.fun/absurd-trolley-problems/. How would you handle them?

      23 votes
    15. Midweek Movie Free Talk

      Warning: this post may contain spoilers

      Have you watched any movies recently you want to discuss? Any films you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here.

      Please just try to provide fair warning of spoilers if you can.

      3 votes
    16. 'Sparks of Tomorrow' anime discussion

      Warning: this post may contain spoilers

      Another show ended this last week. Any one else also watched this one?

      Overall a bit hit-and-miss for me. The art is beautiful, but the direction I felt frequently has odd moments that affected the pacing.

      If there's a theme to the story I guess it'd be something along the line of don't be too obsessive in pursuing your dream (Yousuke with trying to bring Seiroku back, or the wine lady having to remind Inako that focusing on her dream of making her mom's sake is great but don't forget about the people the creation was meant for).

      However, a lot of characters' actions were poorly motivated, making the story felt disjointed. While watching I kept thinking why Kihachi and Yousuke couldn't just work together instead of keep trying to steal the book from each other, it's not like they were competitors. Kihachi was said to be distrustful so maybe it was because he was suspicious of the guy, but then he kept giving out information or showing Yousuke his invention, as if enticing him to steal the book. Another example is Inako's dream to make her mom's sake and be a master brewer, which felt like should have been focused on more early on during the show, making her a foil to Kihachi's approach in chasing his dream perhaps. Instead the show seemed to put more focus on her being too trusting for most of the show, only when the electric book was randomly revealed to also contain her mom's sake recipe that this aspect of her character was brought back.

      On a higher note, the OP and ED musics were the highlights for me. Quirky and sparkly which suits the story very well.

      2 votes