Posts by Rachel_Thorn@queer.party
(DIR) Post #ASuMPotKK3Qne3E7Wa by Rachel_Thorn@queer.party
2023-02-21T00:55:20Z
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I don't mean it drops after a few minutes or even seconds. I mean it drops immediately, then reconnects immediately, then drops immediately, etc. etc. Has anyone seen this before? The thing is, while it never worked even once on my first instance, it actually did work one day when I tested it on #DiodeZone, which makes it all the puzzling. What changed? No idea.[Boosts welcome!]
(DIR) Post #ASv0s1rRgveY91Lw9Y by Rachel_Thorn@queer.party
2023-02-21T22:49:50Z
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@misty Yes! I was thinking of posting something similar to what you said just yesterday.
(DIR) Post #ASvKjyLUsLLo0aqRCC by Rachel_Thorn@queer.party
2023-02-21T22:32:14Z
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I wish people who tried to make comics for kids put more thought into 1) what age range precisely they are aiming at, 2) what vocabulary that age range can handle, and 3) if the concepts presented are ones that age group can wrap its head around. For example, a 7-year-old has no real concept of different forms of government, or even what government is. They also have trouble understanding the concept of history. I’m not saying you shouldn’t challenge them, but start from a place that’s familiar.
(DIR) Post #ASvKjz8lv8lYTPtn04 by Rachel_Thorn@queer.party
2023-02-21T22:38:48Z
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This is true of picture books, too. Often writers who are accustomed to writing beautiful prose for adults think they can do the same thing for kids, but end up writing something that parents will love and kids will be indifferent to. The parent will get all choked up reading the book aloud, while the child is like, “I have no idea what’s happening, but it’s making Mommy/Daddy/Maddy cry.” It’s self indulgent. If you want to reach kids, you need to understand where they are. It takes research.
(DIR) Post #ASvKjzuH4WlOqk7j2e by Rachel_Thorn@queer.party
2023-02-21T22:58:18Z
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Dr. Seuss's Beginner Books are perennial bestsellers not just because he was a genius, but because he worked with experts who told him, "Here are the words these children know; use only these words." The books where he wasn't following those guidelines don't sell as well, because children don't understand them. Oh, the Places You'll Go! is for grownups whose children are growing up. It's not for the "you" in the story. I haven't met a child who genuinely likes that book.
(DIR) Post #ASvKk0OlFB9MNIO4Yq by Rachel_Thorn@queer.party
2023-02-21T23:04:57Z
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Book banners/burners obsess over the themes of children's books. I am absolutely not talking about that. You can teach children about gender identity and sexuality, you can teach them about racial injustice, you can teach them about the rights of the disabled. My 7-year-old has deepened her understanding of such things by reading books that she can understand and enjoy, and that was possible because the writers put a lot of thought in how to convey these ideas to children her age.
(DIR) Post #ASvKk0tbOVotuwohdI by Rachel_Thorn@queer.party
2023-02-21T23:14:31Z
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This is something you should keep in mind when gifting children's books, too. If you don't have a child, or your's is grown up and you're memory is a blur, it's easy to fall into the trap of giving a child a book that the child isn't old enough to appreciate because you love the book yourself. BTW, the recommended ages on Amazon are a joke. Look for a Publisher's Weekly review or check the original publisher's site.
(DIR) Post #ASvKk1SLJLbpeh4Rma by Rachel_Thorn@queer.party
2023-02-21T23:17:57Z
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Take The Tea Dragon Society. It's so pretty and simple looking that you might think even a preschooler could enjoy it, but a child younger than 9 will be frustrated by the first page alone. What's a "blacksmith"? What's a "healer"? What's "shod" mean? What're hooves? What's "slay"? What does "forged" mean?
(DIR) Post #ASvKkAURitdhfp7koK by Rachel_Thorn@queer.party
2023-02-21T23:27:56Z
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You might remember I was looking for age-appropriate comics by creators of color for my daughter for Christmas. I had to make a guess about some because there was no information about age range and I could only read the first few pages online. Half the books I bought turned out to be too difficult for her right now, so I set them aside to give to her when she's ready. This shouldn't involve so much guesswork! Creators and publishers need to be honest with themselves and buyers about this stuff!
(DIR) Post #AT09kgq7JxD6IZ6edk by Rachel_Thorn@queer.party
2023-02-24T08:58:03Z
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@kura The image is a three-panel comic strip. In the first panel, a young woman is planting seeds and patting down soil. She thinks, "I keep trying to prepare for the future." In the second panel, we see tiny shoots rising from the soil. She thinks, "I want to keep moving forward." The third panel shows the woman watering the shoots, but now we see that her garden borders what seems to be a river. It is night, and the river is dark. (Description continued in next reply.)
(DIR) Post #AT09khRL5Yz6A0WNeq by Rachel_Thorn@queer.party
2023-02-24T09:01:25Z
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@kura A raging fire extends the entire visible length of the far shore, stark against the black night sky. The woman thinks, "But what does the future even look like now? Everything is so devastatingly uncertain. And any attempt to plan feels futile."End of comic strip.Please include #AltText in your images for the benefit of Mastodon's many visually impaired users. It is possible to add it after the fact, by choosing edit, deleting the image, putting it back in, and adding an alt text.
(DIR) Post #AT5PONKFlLCgSmNpSa by Rachel_Thorn@queer.party
2023-02-26T12:56:12Z
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@EgyptianAphorist The image is a movie poster for the documentary “I Am Not Your Negro.” It features a close-up and of James Baldwin’s eyes looking off in the distance.Please include alt text with your images for the benefit of Mastodon’s many visually impaired users.
(DIR) Post #AT6UtzXqPNBgu6azNw by Rachel_Thorn@queer.party
2023-02-27T10:42:44Z
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Who would have thought that the day would come when “engineer” means someone who finds ways to put other people out of work?
(DIR) Post #AT9dwedS5W23z6RWK0 by Rachel_Thorn@queer.party
2023-03-01T00:13:38Z
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@Krisss The text in the image reads, "Forgive yourself for not knowing what you didn't know before you learned it. --Maya Angelou"Please include #AltText with your images for the benefit of Mastodon's many visually impaired users. Thank you.#AltText4You
(DIR) Post #ATIABJYjzqVHrB0g2C by Rachel_Thorn@queer.party
2023-03-05T02:44:09Z
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I just saw a toot from someone saying they've become less active here because of "the Reply Guys" and I really feel that.Dear cisgender white men: You really, really don't have to reply to everything willy nilly. It's okay to favorite and boost toots from people who aren't cisgender white men without a superfluous reply. Keep in mind that the world has been subjected to the opinions of cisgender white men for a millennium and we still are, everywhere we look. It's okay to listen quietly.
(DIR) Post #ATQrfBPIstAbgSxox6 by Rachel_Thorn@queer.party
2023-03-09T07:36:47Z
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I just tested DeepL machine translation for the first time in probably a year by plugging in random toots from Japanese friends on here. What I found was that it made numerous mistakes, but it manages to make the English sound natural, so someone who doesn't actually read Japanese could be fooled into thinking the translation is accurate. I used to be kind of rooting for DeepL, but these days #IHateAI so much that I can't root for any of them.
(DIR) Post #ATd8qpn60lA3M1nFLc by Rachel_Thorn@queer.party
2023-03-14T11:24:39Z
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One of the cleverest ways the capitalists who destroy the environment distract us is by promoting a narrative of individuals "doing their part" and "pitching in," which predictably leads to us yelling at each other over things that amount to less than a drop in the ocean while corporations continue on pouring more carbon into the atmosphere than millions of individuals ever could.They brilliantly coopted Earth Day in this manner, brainwashing children into fretting about how much time they spend in the shower rather than taking direct action against corporations.
(DIR) Post #ATd8qrdx7j2H6FWyNE by Rachel_Thorn@queer.party
2023-03-14T22:40:11Z
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I'm muting people who come here and insist that, no, individuals bear responsibility, too, so darn your socks or whatever. You are proving my point by coming here to yell at me. Not going to engage, but, hey, knock yourself out rather than, say, spending that time and energy pressuring a politician to support genuine regulation.
(DIR) Post #ATd8qtGH6jHg7OT5kG by Rachel_Thorn@queer.party
2023-03-15T02:15:07Z
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Actually muting the whole conversation. I rarely toot about environmental issues, but the chutzpah of corporations and billionaires these days is radicalizing me, and these days most of my political toots are related to that in some way. Vote, then do what you can to hold politicians accountable.✌️
(DIR) Post #AThmmU8zKF3LrGM06S by Rachel_Thorn@queer.party
2023-03-17T11:32:34Z
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@gretathunberg Please include alt text (image descriptions) for visually impaired users. To add alt text to an existing toot, choose Edit under the 3-dot menu, delete the image, then put the image back and add the alt text when you do. If for some reason you can't add alt text yourself, you can add the hashtag Alt4Me to the toot to request a volunteer to add an image description in a reply. If you follow @PleaseCaption, they will automatically nudge you when you forget to add alt text to a toot with an image.