Smoking. Accidentally through vaping? Switched to vaping never intending to quit, but ran into issues with my vape, couldn’t use it, and one day I just sort of realized I was fine.

I had one of those early Kangertech models and i kept having issues with coils (even new ones) and then later with the battery. I guess I could have gone to the disposable kind but yeah. It just sort of happened.

I remember the fear i used to get thinking a certain cig was my last one ever. I think taking that out of the equation is critical. Either by lowering your dose or just cutting back in number, working down slowly, and keeping the process open ended is best.

I think there can be an intermediary step where things get a little better before they get much worse. I’m thinking of Youtube, which pre acquisiton, iirc, was getting slow and bad. Google infrastructure made it faster, but then, well…

This is really just the first step of enshitification - first they make things good for users, then introduce advertisers, then claw back all the value for themselves.

Or put another way

• "don’t worry you favourite thing will stay the same - we don’t want to mess with a winning formula!
• “these changes will benefit users!”
• “we have to comply with industry standards and best practices. please read our updated terms of service.”
• "in order to compete in a dynamic marketplace, we’re introducing an add supported tier!
• “we’ve made changes to our subscription model!”
• “we’ve made changes to our subscription model and we’re introducing adds on paid tiers! suck it!”
• “sure, you paid for it, but our agreements are expiring and we don’t value you as a human being!”
• “really, where else are you going to go? lololololol”

These days I’m more of a boomer shooter dude, but the trailer hooked me and I regret nothing. Haven’t tried the newest Postal yet. Played postal 2 back in the day. blood west is likely next up for me.

Devs like Hyperstrange and New Blood are killing it these days, in a time when the big devs are laying off entire teams. It’s amazing what happens when you have smaller devs who are focused on the games and not chasing number-go-up.

As New Blood says, “We love you. We hate money.”

Elderborn. In its own words, a METAL AF SLASHER. Kind of like a first person souls-like. rolled straight out of beating it into a new game+

I play a lot of boomer shooters, some of the more nostalgic ones give me that feeling.

But the cozy exploration, and childlike wonder of Sable are feelings I yearn for long after completing it. So far nothing else has scratched the itch.

It makes even less sense considering the pivot to an “original franchise.” If they’re cynically trying to print money, why not cash in on something with an established active fanbase? Seems like less of a risk.

I’d have bought a new Deus Ex game, regardless if it got badly reviewed. Not really interested in whatever they’re cooking up now. I’m sure most of us fans probably feel the same way.

“um, akshully, it’s not genocide, but it might still be bad or whatever.” Ridiculous

Setting aside whether Israel’s attacks, killings, civilian casualties and mass displacement meet a particular definition of genocide, what possible reason does the author have to quibble on this?

Either they’re merely being pedantic (which I find hard to believe) or they’re trying to blunt outrage over what I think any reasonable person would call a genocide. They’re reaching for any means possible to make these crimes seem less heinous. Seems like a move of desperation to me.

And if you don’t mind hard games with a lot of dying. I died about 600 times on the first boss, no joke. But the game doesn’t make you wait between deaths, and they all felt fair. It’s the good kind of hard game.

Here’s the closest I’ve got.

Priest - History In Black

Priest is an electronic music project originally formed by ex-members of the hugely popular band Ghost. I’d call this Darkwave, but the label doesn’t matter, it’s depeche mode-y and don’t let the gimp mask put you off, I believe the song is very sincere.

I can't stop, it's too late, it pours out, it's my fate
My legacy in black
Looking in to my eyes, see the things i despise
My soul is tainted black

I traveled with the enemy, i thought it was my destiny
I'm free of all the lunacy
I never want it back, my history in black

Silent screams longing voice, violent dreams, ringing noise
My memory is black
It's not a mask, it's my skin
Please don't ask where i've been
My heart is painted black

I traveled with the enemy, i thought it was my destiny
I'm free of all the lunacy
I'm never want it back, my history in black

I escaped from the cage inside

I traveled with the enemy, i thought it was my destiny
I'm free of all the lunacy
I never want it back, my history in black
My history in black

It’s a song that speaks to your flavour of depression. Makes you feel like someone feels the exact same way you do. That in turn makes you feel sane. Like you’re heard. Even understood.

Over time, songs (or movies or other things) can become a ritual - you feel awful, listen to the song, eventually you come out the other side as the depressive episode fades. Then the next time it happens you associate the song with your recovery. So over time it becomes What You Do when you Feel That Way.

This by far my favourite album of theirs. Every one a banger. Especially those you listed.

Electric Wizard - Saturnine

A black sun rises everyday / Shadows cross my path as if to say / “Change your life, change your ways, look up to the sky” / Tomorrow’ll soon be here then time to die

This is some loud stoner/doom metal. Cheesy? sure. Self indulgent? Absolutely. But when the mood strikes it hits the spot every time

Is that Aftermath? I just started reading it today.

I’m also a fan of 404 media, started by motherboard defectors.

I worry about subscription fatigue setting in, but I do think it’s exciting that breakway independent media is seemingly having a moment right now

As has been said I’m sure without Yahtzee the site is basically over.

Which is too bad I really enjoyed extra punctuation and the Slightly Something Else podcast. The whole point of having a subscriber model is that you’re not beholden to advertising or the algorithm or nebulous corporate goals, as the hosts have aid many times.

I guess it goes to show getting acquired by a corp only ever benefits the corp

I believe that that “cancel culture” is really just “consequence culture.” At one point users could hold powerful entities to account. The flattening of the public sphere twitter provided was a feature.

Absolutely there have been people who got targeted who did not deserve it - regular folks who posted a shit take that caught the mobs attention. But I think one of the motivations for Elon acquiring twitter and threads’ non-chronological feed is to clamp down on this kind of of organizing and centralize power.

As for hate speech, the problem that is that any solution at scale means AI and that reveals the biases of those who wrote it. These solutions can’t serve everyone.

And outrage fuels engagement - these companies are incentived to allow that.

So basically I think large networks can’t solve the problem. What’s needed is a decentralized approach with small interoperable communities vetting their members. Even if you get a hate filled instance it can be locked off so it can’t spread. Hate-motivated jerks have always existed, they just had no real access to the discourse until the internet. I really think the answer is the fediverse of tomorrow - if we make it that far.

“Interesting.”

I’m waiting for all 4 to drop so I can binge them. I mostly don’t want to hear about him - need to be in the right angry mood, like shortly after he does something monumentally stupid.

While I don’t think he’s doing some kinda 4 dimensional chess, I think he is trying to stay talked about, like Trump does.

It’s a great podcast though. Been listening for awhile.

there’s a conspiracy theory - use the fee as a way to normalize paying X for things and then pivot to paying through X for things until it’s the fascist super app of elon’s sweaty fever dreams.

i agree completely, and i’ve said it before, a small fee goes a long way to stopping spam and the bad kind of shitposting. It’s barrier that a lot of actors, good and bad, can climb, but they’ll be at least someone who can’t or won’t.

thing is, twitter has already eroded so much trust and relevance that i think for a lot of folks this might be the last straw. we’ll see - much like the reddit rebellion it’s hard to tell how many folks will actually quit from the noise alone.

For the fediverse i’m not certain at all. on the one hand many of us want the fediverse to grow and become more diverse. Fees are a barrier to entry. but i also agree, as you say, that mods and admins deserve something for their trouble - especially since their job is a lot harder on lemmy.

i hate to say, but maybe discord has it right? monetize cosmetics and stuff? i really don’t know. Disclosure i am nitro subscriber, mostly for the emoji.

Pimento! Especially if they’re feisty.