Martha Wells/Murderbot book bundle

Aug. 26th, 2025 08:42 pm
alias_sqbr: (happy dragon)
[personal profile] alias_sqbr
Martha Wells' Murderbot & More is about $30AUD (so $20USDish?) for a whole heap of her books. It's available for the next 18 days. I had no trouble downloading them as DRM free ebooks in Australia.
denise: Image: Me, facing away from camera, on top of the Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome (Default)
[staff profile] denise posting in [site community profile] dw_news

I'll start with the tl;dr summary to make sure everyone sees it and then explain further: As of September 1, we will temporarily be forced to block access to Dreamwidth from all IP addresses that geolocate to Mississippi for legal reasons. This block will need to continue until we either win the legal case entirely, or the district court issues another injunction preventing Mississippi from enforcing their social media age verification and parental consent law against us.

Mississippi residents, we are so, so sorry. We really don't want to do this, but the legal fight we and Netchoice have been fighting for you had a temporary setback last week. We genuinely and honestly believe that we're going to win it in the end, but the Fifth Circuit appellate court said that the district judge was wrong to issue the preliminary injunction back in June that would have maintained the status quo and prevented the state from enforcing the law requiring any social media website (which is very broadly defined, and which we definitely qualify as) to deanonymize and age-verify all users and obtain parental permission from the parent of anyone under 18 who wants to open an account.

Netchoice took that appellate ruling up to the Supreme Court, who declined to overrule the Fifth Circuit with no explanation -- except for Justice Kavanaugh agreeing that we are likely to win the fight in the end, but saying that it's no big deal to let the state enforce the law in the meantime.

Needless to say, it's a big deal to let the state enforce the law in the meantime. The Mississippi law is a breathtaking state overreach: it forces us to verify the identity and age of every person who accesses Dreamwidth from the state of Mississippi and determine who's under the age of 18 by collecting identity documents, to save that highly personal and sensitive information, and then to obtain a permission slip from those users' parents to allow them to finish creating an account. It also forces us to change our moderation policies and stop anyone under 18 from accessing a wide variety of legal and beneficial speech because the state of Mississippi doesn't like it -- which, given the way Dreamwidth works, would mean blocking people from talking about those things at all. (And if you think you know exactly what kind of content the state of Mississippi doesn't like, you're absolutely right.)

Needless to say, we don't want to do that, either. Even if we wanted to, though, we can't: the resources it would take for us to build the systems that would let us do it are well beyond our capacity. You can read the sworn declaration I provided to the court for some examples of how unworkable these requirements are in practice. (That isn't even everything! The lawyers gave me a page limit!)

Unfortunately, the penalties for failing to comply with the Mississippi law are incredibly steep: fines of $10,000 per user from Mississippi who we don't have identity documents verifying age for, per incident -- which means every time someone from Mississippi loaded Dreamwidth, we'd potentially owe Mississippi $10,000. Even a single $10,000 fine would be rough for us, but the per-user, per-incident nature of the actual fine structure is an existential threat. And because we're part of the organization suing Mississippi over it, and were explicitly named in the now-overturned preliminary injunction, we think the risk of the state deciding to engage in retaliatory prosecution while the full legal challenge continues to work its way through the courts is a lot higher than we're comfortable with. Mississippi has been itching to issue those fines for a while, and while normally we wouldn't worry much because we're a small and obscure site, the fact that we've been yelling at them in court about the law being unconstitutional means the chance of them lumping us in with the big social media giants and trying to fine us is just too high for us to want to risk it. (The excellent lawyers we've been working with are Netchoice's lawyers, not ours!)

All of this means we've made the extremely painful decision that our only possible option for the time being is to block Mississippi IP addresses from accessing Dreamwidth, until we win the case. (And I repeat: I am absolutely incredibly confident we'll win the case. And apparently Justice Kavanaugh agrees!) I repeat: I am so, so sorry. This is the last thing we wanted to do, and I've been fighting my ass off for the last three years to prevent it. But, as everyone who follows the legal system knows, the Fifth Circuit is gonna do what it's gonna do, whether or not what they want to do has any relationship to the actual law.

We don't collect geolocation information ourselves, and we have no idea which of our users are residents of Mississippi. (We also don't want to know that, unless you choose to tell us.) Because of that, and because access to highly accurate geolocation databases is extremely expensive, our only option is to use our network provider's geolocation-based blocking to prevent connections from IP addresses they identify as being from Mississippi from even reaching Dreamwidth in the first place. I have no idea how accurate their geolocation is, and it's possible that some people not in Mississippi might also be affected by this block. (The inaccuracy of geolocation is only, like, the 27th most important reason on the list of "why this law is practically impossible for any site to comply with, much less a tiny site like us".)

If your IP address is identified as coming from Mississippi, beginning on September 1, you'll see a shorter, simpler version of this message and be unable to proceed to the site itself. If you would otherwise be affected, but you have a VPN or proxy service that masks your IP address and changes where your connection appears to come from, you won't get the block message, and you can keep using Dreamwidth the way you usually would.

On a completely unrelated note while I have you all here, have I mentioned lately that I really like ProtonVPN's service, privacy practices, and pricing? They also have a free tier available that, although limited to one device, has no ads or data caps and doesn't log your activity, unlike most of the free VPN services out there. VPNs are an excellent privacy and security tool that every user of the internet should be familiar with! We aren't affiliated with Proton and we don't get any kickbacks if you sign up with them, but I'm a satisfied customer and I wanted to take this chance to let you know that.

Again, we're so incredibly sorry to have to make this announcement, and I personally promise you that I will continue to fight this law, and all of the others like it that various states are passing, with every inch of the New Jersey-bred stubborn fightiness you've come to know and love over the last 16 years. The instant we think it's less legally risky for us to allow connections from Mississippi IP addresses, we'll undo the block and let you know.

Japanese Citizenship/Passport Query

Aug. 25th, 2025 06:10 pm
glinda: I...have a cunning plan (cunning plan)
[personal profile] glinda posting in [community profile] little_details
A rather more contemporary citizenship question here. I’m looking for a resource for Japanese passport and citizenship rules - do they have birthright citizenship, if a citizen emigrates can they retain dual citizenship, is it different if they emigrated as a child etc.

The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ website is very helpful on the subject of visas and emigration for citizens of other countries so I guess I’m looking for a similar kind of FAQ to this - https://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/ - but for, I guess you’d call it re-emigration? Moving back to the country of your birth as an adult?

Any help, gratefully received!

Mars Geology

Aug. 24th, 2025 09:23 pm
torchicwpip: (Default)
[personal profile] torchicwpip posting in [community profile] little_details
Hey howdy. Am doing some Martian worldbuilding and wondering about the rarity of some specific minerals and resources on Mars. The list is:
- quartz
- beryl
- bixbyite
- baryte/barium
- vanadium
- aerinite/silicate minerals
- calcite/calcium carbonate
- dolomite
- esperite
- fluorapatite/phosphate minerals
- malachite
- pyrite
- jasper
- celestine
- granite
- obsidian

My question is more on the rarity of these on Mars relative to their rarity on Earth, because theoretically all of these/almost all of these are possible to be found on Mars.

(Also ignore the fact that I accidentally commented on the first post of this community instead of making a post I am still getting used to this site lmao)

All pinch hits claimed!

Aug. 24th, 2025 10:44 pm
littlefics: Three miniature books standing on an open normal-sized book. (Default)
[personal profile] littlefics posting in [community profile] seasonsofdrabbles
All pinch hits have been claimed! Thank you to all of our pinch hitters! This is also a great time to write treats. :)
justmarriedmod: (Default)
[personal profile] justmarriedmod posting in [community profile] yuletide
[community profile] justmarriedexchange is a marriage-themed multifandom exchange for marriage tropes of all kinds: convenient, accidental, undercover, arranged, forced, and so on. The requirements are 1500 words for fic, clean lineart on unlined paper for art, and a complete recording of 1500 words or 10 minutes for podfic.

We have some post-deadline pinch hits, currently due August 29th 11:59PM UTC (countdown), or negotiable.

PH 32 - ダンジョン飯 | Dungeon Meshi | Delicious in Dungeon, Critical Role (Web Series), Bridgerton (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

PH 46 - 逆転裁判 | Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney, Dishonored (Video Games), Dishonored (Video Games), Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga, Girl Genius (Webcomic), Lackadaisy (Webcomic), The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom, Psychonauts (Video Games)

PH 48 - Hazbin Hotel (Cartoon), Hazbin Hotel (Cartoon), 黄金の太陽 | Golden Sun Series, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)

PH 49 - Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses, 鸣潮 | Wuthering Waves (Video Game), Limbus Company (Video Game)

PH 52 - Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Noctilucent: Before Dawn (Video Game), 原神 | Genshin Impact (Video Game), 너의 스탯이 보여! | Show Me Your Stats! (Webcomic), Valdemar Series - Mercedes Lackey

If you might be interested in one of these pinch hits, you can find more details or claim the pinch hit at the post here. Thank you very much!

Post-Deadline Pinch Hits Available!

Aug. 24th, 2025 11:17 am
littlefics: Three miniature books standing on an open normal-sized book. (Default)
[personal profile] littlefics posting in [community profile] seasonsofdrabbles
Hi all, we have ONE post-deadline pinch hit available! PDPHs are due Friday, August 29, noon Eastern time (Countdown), though we can be flexible if needed.

If you would like to claim a pinch hit, please comment to this post with the name/number of the pinch hit you would like. Make sure to include your AO3 username! Comments are screened.

CLAIMED PH 4 - Fireworks (1947)/Succession (TV 2018), O Fantasma (2000), O Fantasma (2000)/Succession (TV 2018), The Sergeant (1968), Succession (TV 2018) )

CLAIMED PH 8 - Interview with the Vampire (TV 2022), Wicked (Movie 2024), Wind Breaker (Anime), Descendants (Disney Movies) )

CLAIMED PH 9 - Twelfth Night - Shakespeare, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Creator's Choice of Fandom )

CLAIMED PH 10 - Something Dark and Holy Series - Emily A. Duncan, The Locked Tomb Series | Gideon the Ninth Series - Tamsyn Muir, 原神 | Genshin Impact (Video Game), Yellowjackets (TV) )

CLAIMED PH 11 - 逆転裁判 | Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney, Miraculous Ladybug, ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 | JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Hades (Supergiant Games Video Games), Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo (Visual Novel), Xenoblade Chronicles (Video Game) )

CLAIMED PH 12 - 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV), The Terror (TV 2018), Yellowjackets (TV), The Magnus Archives (Podcast), Original Work )

CLAIMED PH 13 - Storm Hawks (Cartoon), Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!, Cookie Run (Video Game) )

Deadline passed!

Aug. 24th, 2025 12:02 am
littlefics: Three miniature books standing on an open normal-sized book. (Default)
[personal profile] littlefics posting in [community profile] seasonsofdrabbles
The deadline for assignments has now passed! We've temporarily closed the collection to take stock. We expect it'll be a few hours before we are able to fully take stock and open it again for posting. Don't stress if your assignment takes some time to be approved. We will likely have the post-deadline pinch hits out approximately a day from now. Thanks!

Update at 5am Eastern Time: The collection is now open again.
littlefics: Three miniature books standing on an open normal-sized book. (Default)
[personal profile] littlefics posting in [community profile] seasonsofdrabbles
Final reminder that assignments are due soon on Saturday, August 23, 11:59pm Eastern Daylight time (Countdown).

We have several emails out with queries, so please check the email associated with your AO3 account! Thanks all!

Assignments due in 48 hours!

Aug. 21st, 2025 11:37 pm
littlefics: Three miniature books standing on an open normal-sized book. (Default)
[personal profile] littlefics posting in [community profile] seasonsofdrabbles

Hi everyone, this is a reminder that assignments are due in 48 hours on Saturday, August 23, 11:59pm Eastern Daylight time (Countdown).

As we come up on the deadline, check your email inbox in case we have sent you a query!

Minimum requirements:
  • All gifts (and treats) should be for a fandom and character the recipient requested, must be a length they requested, and must not include reasonable DNWs from their AO3 signup.

  • Do not put de-anonymizing information in your fic or author's notes (e.g., links to social media) until after the anon period is over.

  • Treats that do not fit any recipient's request may be posted to the collection without a recipient.

Submitting your assignment:
  • Go to the collection's page on AO3, click on "My Assignment", click "Fulfill", and paste in your fic.

  • If, for whatever reason, you feel you cannot fulfill your assignment by the deadline, you may default instead.

A Kingdom Far and Clear - Mark Helprin

NSFW Aug. 18th, 2025 12:57 pm
chestnut_pod: A close-up photograph of my auburn hair in a French braid (Default)
[personal profile] chestnut_pod
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So I broke my toe

Aug. 17th, 2025 02:08 pm
alias_sqbr: Me on a couch asleep with a cat sitting on my lap top, with the caption out of spoons error (spoons)
[personal profile] alias_sqbr
It's all dealt with now, I am just keeping off my feet even more than usual while it heals, but thought I should let people know!

Details and some stuff about life in general under the cut, including mention of my colonoscopy (two unrelated minor surgeries in a month is TWO TOO MANY) and mention of blood/needles etc.

So above the cut I'll say: If you ever need to keep a bandaged toe dry in the shower, put a stretchy glove over it! Works like a charm!
Read more... )

Swan Lake novels

NSFW Aug. 15th, 2025 12:45 pm
chestnut_pod: A close-up photograph of my auburn hair in a French braid (Default)
[personal profile] chestnut_pod
( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )
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