It will be interesting to track the evolution of folk socio-technical critique in the fediverse versus centralized social media.

Delegating governance decisions and their consequences to unaccountable corporations influenced users to use distinct rhetorical modes allocating blame to nameless agents.

Governance decisions in the fediverse can be more strongly attributed to specific agents.

Blunt-force rhetorical modes end up colliding with norms of interpersonal conduct and respectability.

Maintaining a #WhisperNetwork to keep colleagues & students safe because #academia STILL fails to hold harassers accountable = so much lost time that could otherwise go to my research & research collaborations + extreme bitterness toward a very broken system. But -- no regrets.

I sincerely hope those who come after me have fewer hidden explosives to navigate & can focus on their work.... We just want to be scientists!! 😞

#AcademicChatter #Science #MeToo #PassTheHarasser

To all the #ttrpg #dnd players out there thinking about DMing for the first time and are nervous. DO IT. Just do it. Your first game wont be your best game but you can't get to your best game until you get past your first one. yes the first game will be weird. You'll make mistakes. But that's how you learn. If you have good players they'll be kind and forgiving.

Just go for it!

Mastodons could adapt to live in many types of environments, from tundra to tropical jungles. They often organized themselves into small groups and herds.

Only very powerful druids were able to use these hulking beasts as animal companions.

A mastodon could be summoned by the conjure animals spell.

Mastodons were fairly rare throughout Faerûn, but could sometimes be found in the company of frost giants.
#dnd #DungeonsAndDragons #Realmslore

https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Mastodon

Every year, I do a group assimilation exercise to get feedback:
https://yisongyue.medium.com/phd-advising-tips-group-assimilation-exercise-b0aedfb8febc

One interesting thing that came up this year was the level of detail in advice/feedback that I give to different students (high variance in the group). After reflecting on it, I recommended students to propose concrete plans/approaches (with the understanding that plans will change) in order give me grounding in their motivations and intuitions. This has noticeably improved several interactions thus far.