Notices by Jürgen Hubert (juergen_hubert@thefolklore.cafe), page 2

@mekkaokereke Isn't "civility" in American politics a dog whistle for "minorities should shut up about discrimination"?

This is the true promise of the #Fediverse : Everyone has the right to freedom of speech, but no one has the right to a captive audience.

Which is as it should be. Yet what other social media system can say the same?

While I am not excited by #ttrpg rules as such, I do love #worldbuiling , including detailing the region any campaign takes place in.

My current project is "rebooting" a setting I first started working on more than 20 years ago. I've started with a new, procedurally generated geography, and I am now placing the many locations I came up with back then into this new context - changing or removing those who seem too cringe-worthy to my now more experienced eye.

Once that is done, I can develop and place new locations.

You've read the tales, now get the books!

#Germany #folktale #folklore #book
https://sunkencastles.com/the-books/

1/ There is a lot of disdain here on #Mastodon and the #Fediverse for those who have chosen to stay on #X / #Twitter and other social media platforms. And I think that this is not helpful.

I mean, sure, in the case of governments, political leaders, and major news organizations, disdain away. But many activists and small-time business owners _depend_ on having a large reach and good networking for their activities, and this reach might simply not be feasible on the Fediverse - especially if their primary focus is on a demographic underrepresented around here (as the Fediverse skews heavily towards white Europeans and North Americans).

Hating on these people accomplishes nothing useful - and worse, it contributes to the Fediverse's well-deserved reputation for snobbery, which has driven a lot of people away.

So instead try empathy. Understand why such people make the choice to stay on other social media platforms, despite their problems. And instead of berating them for it, emphasize that these platforms will almost certainly get worse over time, due to the Enshittification cycle that all tech businesses touched by Silicon Valley venture capitalists must inevitably go through.

Suggest that developing a Fediverse presence is a useful "Plan B" for their social media efforts - and that among social media platforms, the Fediverse alone has the potential to develop into something better over time.

And offer your help for figuring this "Fediverse" thing out.

As a reminder, modern standards of "cleanliness" for households were developed during a period when the wife in a family was expected to stay home and take care of the household full-time.

So if you are a single, or if you are part of a family where _both_ spouses work full time, and you just seem to catch up with the household chores: Don't blame yourself! This is perfectly normal, and people and media telling you otherwise are putting pressure on you which is wholly unjustified.

Sure, households _should_ be cleaned now and then, but having them remain clean _all_ the time is an impossible standard in today's world for anyone who cannot afford outside domestic aid.

Don't mock your local priest unless you are willing to face the consequences.

#Germany #folktale #folklore #Devil @germany @folklore
https://www.patreon.com/posts/snatch-and-grab-69256348

A question for #fantasy enthusiasts:

Occasionally I have come across descriptions otherworldly places - the gateway to the Afterlife, alien vistas, and so forth - as being covered with "black sand".

Does anyone know where this trope originated?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_sand

There's the "Creepy Amusement Park" vibe so beloved by horror movies, and then there's the "Creepy Amusement Park set in a Never-finished Nuclear Power Plant" vibe where I have ended up today.

#photography #NuclearPower

For those who don't follow news from #Germany , yesterday there were state elections in #Thuringia and #Saxony - and in Thuringia the fascist #AfD won a plurality of the votes, while in Saxony they are only slightly behind the Christian Conservatives.

Due to the German election system, this doesn't mean they will automatically form the government - but it will be very difficult to form a government without them in Thuringia.

These results are devastating for all patriotic Germans, but it is not clear what we are supposed to do now to fight the fascists. I will continue to speak out against them - but it is clear that a significant portion of the German population _want_ fascists to return to power.

#fascism #Nazis
https://www.dw.com/en/germany-thuringia-and-saxony-elections-propel-far-right-afd/a-70106147

Regarding #Brazil banning #X :

After the disaster of the Weimar Republic, the Federal Republic of #Germany came up with the concept of the "Wehrhafte Demokratie" - a "democracy that can defend itself". Fundamental to this concept is that people, groups, and organizations who want to overthrow the basic democratic order should _not_ get a "level playing field".

So while I can understand people worried about any kind of #censorship , I think by this standard this action is justifiable. Brazil went through an attempted coup, and X - and Elon #Musk - were instrumental in aiding the coupists.

And by now Elon Musk has established a clear pattern of "wanting to overthrow the democratic order" - _any_ democratic order. Thus, it is valid if Brazil wants to restrict his speech.

I see this as part of the "Paradox of Tolerance" - tolerating the intolerant will result in less tolerance. And tolerance, like freedom of speech, are social contracts. If you break the social contract - as Elon Musk has - then there should be consequences.

The Devil is known for being a master architect. Large constructions such as barns or even churches are but a night's work for him.

#Germany #folktale #folklore #Devil @germany @folklore
https://www.patreon.com/posts/devil-as-master-55988038

If you play cards in church during mass, the Devil might fetch you right then and there and drag you to Hell!

I am not sure if the same applies to playing on your smart phone, but personally I would not risk it.

#Germany #folktale #folklore #Devil #ghost @germany @folklore
https://www.patreon.com/posts/devil-punishes-39505609

If you would steal from the dead, you should be willing to accept the... consequences.

#Germany #folktale #folklore #ghost #ghoststory @germany @folklore
https://www.patreon.com/posts/dead-brides-48659085

@FlashMobOfOne @germany @folklore

Eh, I am pretty sure that the pagans would have developed their own ways of being jerks.

Saints have a long history of being a downer at pagan parties.

#Germany #folktale #folklore #saint @germany @folklore
https://www.patreon.com/posts/saints-and-holy-35840297

After the people of Wilster had offended them, witches sunk the whole town beneath the ground on one Sunday morning.

#Germany #folktale #folklore #witch #witchcraft @germany @folklore
https://www.patreon.com/posts/that-sinking-30536135

"Blood label" was a popular slander against Jews.

#Germany #folklore #antisemitism
https://sunkencastles.com/2024/01/29/antisemitism-in-german-folklore-part-2-blood-libel/

Everything you've learned of kobolds from #DnD is wrong.

#Germany #folktale #folklore
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzR8RyNk2ig

George Kurtz, the CEO of #CrowdStrike , was also the Chief Technology Officer of McAfee in 2010, where an update caused widespread malfunctions in Windows XP SP3 systems.

I am sure that Kurtz will find another job to fall upwards in, such as the CEO of Google. Or maybe he will join the Trump Transition Team as the Tech Expert.