I disagree that it would be as clear that people would become less isolated. I do agree that people would adapt to life without Internet; we were there once before, we can be there again. However, this dismisses the good the internet has done and neglects to account for the reasons it has turned out the way it has.

I think people would fall into tribalism offline as much as they do online. Maybe it would be regional and physical community based, and they would have more social interaction -in person-, but they would still fall into little insular pockets of one form or another. The cure is a variety of interactions with people of different mindsets, whether that is online or offline. But we, as people, don’t like that. We like the comfy communities where we can form an echochamber together.

And this wouldn’t?

Man Shellfish has lived rent free in my mind for over a decade

Underrated joke

Nah, they slap it in like this while living in an apartment so all the other tenents can hear them play the same song on repeat for 5 hours!

Retail. It’s 100% on the companies for doing this, but cashiers, for example, usually have bare minimum staffing. If one cashier is late coming in, that probably delays someone’s lunch or someone getting to go home on time.

It’s not right, it’s not everywhere, and in a lot of places when you show up doesn’t/shouldn’t matter. But people should be mindful of the other people they impact. Slack off all you want at work, I don’t care unless it starts making more problems for me and the rest of the team.

I agree, because I’ve learned that is the best way to handle these situations, but it goes both ways. It also only takes a half a second for them to say “I’m just venting”, or “I don’t need a solution, I just need someone to listen”.

Works 100% of the time with a monthly nag screen doesn’t sound like it works 100% of the time.

I became a proponent for Linux not because “OMG Linux is so awesome and perfect!”, but because I was experiencing tons of issues on Windows (10) with driver and registry issues. I figured if I had to do the troubleshooting and fix a broken system anyway, I might as well do it on a system I actually had control over.

I started with dual-booting. I had a new storage drive I bought for the extra space, but said screw it and tried with installing Mint. I ended up only going to my Windows boot for adjusting RGB on a new mouse (it was too bright and I was too lazy to install openrgb for just that), and for a couple of larger games (I didn’t want to reinstall them because I had slow Internet at the time).

The only thing I still miss from Windows that I haven’t found on Linux is VoiceMeeter Banana. I had just started getting into refining my audio setup before I switched over for good, and I haven’t found a good audio mixer on Linux that works as well. Though, the main reason I was using VoiceMeeter was to more easily switch output devices inside games (sometimes the audio wouldn’t switch if the game was already launched), but that has never been an issue on Linux using the default audio mixer.

I didn’t think of my OS much before my switch, either. I agree that it is something most people just overlook because it “works well enough”. But I had gotten tired of complaining about how Windows is broken and difficult to work with under the surface, and at a certain point I decided to go for an alternative instead. It was one of the best choices I’ve made.

If Windows is working for you and you don’t have issues with it, then that is great for you and you are welcome to stay! However, if you have complaints about Windows and the direction Microsoft is taking it, you have a choice. Put up with it, or try something new. Both will take learning and getting used to, but one of them puts the control in your hands.

“I guess Elf culture really has moved past self-improvement as a concept”

I always saw it as “et cetera”, so the “et” came naturally to me

Sure, but when do you propose someone pick their own name? What are they referred to before that point? I know there have been cultures where what you are suggesting is exactly how they handle it, but in societies that have identification numbers and birth records, they need to be called something before they are able to choose their own name.

Like, the actual, physical logistics of what you propose doesn’t make sense to me. Normalizing changing your own name to something you choose later, though, does make sense.

But like, you’d still name a name before that, at least for official documents and such. Normalizing renaming is fine, but I see that as somewhat separate from parents naming their children to begin with.

I feel like this would fit here nicely

Darn Tough socks. Super durable, and lifetime warranty

Ok, but think of it in terms of normal start times vs needing to go in early, instead of the actual hour. If you usually start at 6:30 but had to go in for 6:00 for no reason other than a meeting that could have been an email, it sucks.

I used to have a 6:30 start time when I was younger, had an hour commute, and still had time for breakfast at home in the morning. It absolutely sucked and I hated it. Getting up for 8:30 start times still sucks if you’re used to 9:00 start times.

In this instance, just don’t capitalize the W in weird

Rest well, Dino

I love the facial expressions in this comic

It’s a combination of trial and error, finding something that feels “right”, and not being afraid to just go for it with one. Choosing a fursona doesn’t have to be permanent. Maybe you’ll find the species that feels right, but the character and personality of the fursona feels off, so you need to reinvent them. Maybe you get it perfect with the feel of the character and personality, but you need to change the species. There’s no right or wrong way to find the best fit for you.

I had considered myself a furry for many, many years without ever having a set fursona. I vaguely had a sense of what species I/it would be; hybrid fox-mountain lion, domestic cat, and now raccoon. But I never had a set character or fursona. Within the last year I finally said what do I have to lose? I started thinking of specifics of the character. Who is he, and what is he like? How similar is he to the real life me? Is he simply me, but in an anthropomorphic body? Is he an idealized version of who I want to be? Then I got a reference sheet made, and it all felt more real.

I think having a piece of media for your fursona really helps. It doesn’t have to be professional, it doesn’t have to be artwork, but something. A short story, a biography, a sketch, a reference sheet, a 3d model, a poem, something that describes who they are. And then you can feel if you like that for yourself, or if they are an OC but not your fursona, or if you need to rework them entirely.

This 1000 times. It wasn’t even ambiguous in the novel.