Quintessence
@quintessence.bsky.social
Founder and Executive Director of the Nivenly Foundation @nivenly.bsky.social
Head Moderator of Hachyderm.io : community stewardship and trust & safety
Nรณva ๐ฏ๏ธ๐
Head Moderator of Hachyderm.io : community stewardship and trust & safety
Nรณva ๐ฏ๏ธ๐
Pinned
Quintessence
@quintessence.bsky.social
ยท Jan 28
Political News for Normal People.
Your essential guide to the shock and awe in national politics. A sane, once-a-day newsletter helping normal people make sense of the news.
whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com
For anyone who has trouble and trauma following the firehose of news reports, a quick reminder that this project is still working hard and going strong:
whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com
Daily summaries of the headlines of American politics without commentary / interpretation. The "need to knows".
whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com
Daily summaries of the headlines of American politics without commentary / interpretation. The "need to knows".
Reposted by Quintessence
Can't believe we're engaging in such #lesbaru erasure, on the week of @krisnova.net's birthday no less ๐
November 3, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Can't believe we're engaging in such #lesbaru erasure, on the week of @krisnova.net's birthday no less ๐
Random contextless question: so we have the "lolsob" emoji, is there an emoji mashup for LOL and Eternal Shriek / The Scream? ๐ ๐ฑ ๐ค
July 6, 2025 at 10:46 PM
Random contextless question: so we have the "lolsob" emoji, is there an emoji mashup for LOL and Eternal Shriek / The Scream? ๐ ๐ฑ ๐ค
This past #caturday was having some word fun and IIUC it looks like some Germans with pets refer to themselves as "dosenรถffner", or "can-openers"? (Can anyone confirm?) And I was reminded of this really, really old Sesame Street skit.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxSJ...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxSJ...
Classic Sesame Street - Cat's Can
A funny cartoon by Dan Haskett. Gotta love the various ways he tries to open the can.
www.youtube.com
June 15, 2025 at 5:36 PM
This past #caturday was having some word fun and IIUC it looks like some Germans with pets refer to themselves as "dosenรถffner", or "can-openers"? (Can anyone confirm?) And I was reminded of this really, really old Sesame Street skit.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxSJ...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxSJ...
All of that to lead up to this (I need more characters ๐
): what are some ways that you navigate building the framework to have conversations that will likely be devisive?
4/4
4/4
June 9, 2025 at 5:45 PM
All of that to lead up to this (I need more characters ๐
): what are some ways that you navigate building the framework to have conversations that will likely be devisive?
4/4
4/4
Example: if people are socialized not to talk about, say, politics and religion - then who has ample room to be the only speaker on these topics?
Before starting to have conversations that we aren't able to have, first we need to know how to have them lest the conversations lead to splintering.
3/
Before starting to have conversations that we aren't able to have, first we need to know how to have them lest the conversations lead to splintering.
3/
June 9, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Example: if people are socialized not to talk about, say, politics and religion - then who has ample room to be the only speaker on these topics?
Before starting to have conversations that we aren't able to have, first we need to know how to have them lest the conversations lead to splintering.
3/
Before starting to have conversations that we aren't able to have, first we need to know how to have them lest the conversations lead to splintering.
3/
There is a famous quote by Mark Twain, which fully goes "do not talk about politics and religion in polite company". This is frequently echoed with "in polite company" dropped.
One of the problems with this is that it creates an opening for attacks of opportunity.
2/
One of the problems with this is that it creates an opening for attacks of opportunity.
2/
June 9, 2025 at 5:45 PM
There is a famous quote by Mark Twain, which fully goes "do not talk about politics and religion in polite company". This is frequently echoed with "in polite company" dropped.
One of the problems with this is that it creates an opening for attacks of opportunity.
2/
One of the problems with this is that it creates an opening for attacks of opportunity.
2/
As we continue to watch events unfold, in addition to discussing the events themselves there are also a lot of other conversations we need to have. One of them is: How Do We Talk About, What We Don't Talk About?
1/N
1/N
June 9, 2025 at 5:45 PM
As we continue to watch events unfold, in addition to discussing the events themselves there are also a lot of other conversations we need to have. One of them is: How Do We Talk About, What We Don't Talk About?
1/N
1/N
Oh also: who is enjoying some great pride events this month? It's a great time, for those who are able, to remember our joy and humanity.
June 8, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Oh also: who is enjoying some great pride events this month? It's a great time, for those who are able, to remember our joy and humanity.
Fellow Whovians: who watched the latest season????
June 8, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Fellow Whovians: who watched the latest season????
Seeking backgrounds to use on my (many many) meetings for this month. What are people's favorite pride backgrounds? Bonus points if there are books or bookcases, cause those bring me joy
June 6, 2025 at 10:46 PM
Seeking backgrounds to use on my (many many) meetings for this month. What are people's favorite pride backgrounds? Bonus points if there are books or bookcases, cause those bring me joy
Today I am a member of today's Lucky 10,000 (ref: XKCD). I finally learned word for a specific joke pattern in English: eggcorn
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggcorn...
Quote Skeet: winning example for anyone in today's Lucky 10,000.
bsky.app/profile/furi...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggcorn...
Quote Skeet: winning example for anyone in today's Lucky 10,000.
bsky.app/profile/furi...
Eggcorn - Wikipedia
An eggcorn is the alteration of a word or phrase through the mishearing or reinterpretation of one or more of its elements,[1] creating a new phrase which is plausible when used in the sameโฆ
en.wikipedia.org
June 6, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Today I am a member of today's Lucky 10,000 (ref: XKCD). I finally learned word for a specific joke pattern in English: eggcorn
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggcorn...
Quote Skeet: winning example for anyone in today's Lucky 10,000.
bsky.app/profile/furi...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggcorn...
Quote Skeet: winning example for anyone in today's Lucky 10,000.
bsky.app/profile/furi...
Because hope is for everyone.
People are stepping up, and it's wonderful to see.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8wM...
People are stepping up, and it's wonderful to see.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8wM...
Annie Andrews Launch Video: "Unafraid"
www.youtube.com
June 4, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Because hope is for everyone.
People are stepping up, and it's wonderful to see.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8wM...
People are stepping up, and it's wonderful to see.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8wM...
Due to the nature of brains, I always think of posts at times I don't actually want to be posting on the internet. Testing out some old (and new) tooling to separate this a bit.
June 3, 2025 at 9:59 AM
Due to the nature of brains, I always think of posts at times I don't actually want to be posting on the internet. Testing out some old (and new) tooling to separate this a bit.
It's really easy to know if Someone Is About To Do A Thing when they say "I don't mean to sound Y, but ..." type sentences. They load the intent into the structure. But do you know enough about different hateful ideologies to recognize them unaided?
An exercise:
hachyderm.io/@quintessenc...
An exercise:
hachyderm.io/@quintessenc...
quintessence :blobfoxcofecute: (@[email protected])
Another question for everyone: how do you teach yourself to recognize problematic behavior from all sources?
Video of press questions for PM Mark Carney ๐จ๐ฆ as an exercise.
---
Many of us can spot ...
hachyderm.io
April 24, 2025 at 2:16 PM
It's really easy to know if Someone Is About To Do A Thing when they say "I don't mean to sound Y, but ..." type sentences. They load the intent into the structure. But do you know enough about different hateful ideologies to recognize them unaided?
An exercise:
hachyderm.io/@quintessenc...
An exercise:
hachyderm.io/@quintessenc...
P.S. To say it again, Emelia also does paid contracting work if that is an interest to you or anyone you know.
April 24, 2025 at 9:31 AM
P.S. To say it again, Emelia also does paid contracting work if that is an interest to you or anyone you know.
Emelia's expertise is invaluable to us at #nivenly and #hachyderm and many Fedi communities (whether they know it or not). She works on highly intricate problems and creates equally intricate solutions.
Donations support her ongoing work for collective benefit. She also does contracting work. โค๏ธ
Donations support her ongoing work for collective benefit. She also does contracting work. โค๏ธ
So a not too well known thing about me: I'm the co-author of the Client ID Metadata Documents internet draft that Bluesky / AT Proto uses for OAuth.
This document came about due to my work on Mastodon's OAuth implementation.
If you'd like to support my work: support.thisismissem.social
This document came about due to my work on Mastodon's OAuth implementation.
If you'd like to support my work: support.thisismissem.social
Support Emelia Smith (@thisismissem)
Fund her work on the Fediverse, improving trust & safety and other open-source contributions
support.thisismissem.social
April 24, 2025 at 9:31 AM
Emelia's expertise is invaluable to us at #nivenly and #hachyderm and many Fedi communities (whether they know it or not). She works on highly intricate problems and creates equally intricate solutions.
Donations support her ongoing work for collective benefit. She also does contracting work. โค๏ธ
Donations support her ongoing work for collective benefit. She also does contracting work. โค๏ธ
Watching current events and reflecting on some other things, I made a long post about disenfranchised vs enfranchised communication patterns:
hachyderm.io/@quintessenc...
hachyderm.io/@quintessenc...
quintessence :blobfoxcofecute: (@[email protected])
When you hear the phrase "seat at the table" what does that mean to you?
Or: Enfranchised and disenfranchised communication.
===
So what am I talking about here and why?
A metaphor I'll use in thi...
hachyderm.io
April 22, 2025 at 11:38 AM
Watching current events and reflecting on some other things, I made a long post about disenfranchised vs enfranchised communication patterns:
hachyderm.io/@quintessenc...
hachyderm.io/@quintessenc...
So news in the United States is breaking "at the speed of information". As I watched the back and forth regarding @jennamclaughlin.bsky.social 's @npr.org article about DOGE and labor data, I thought it was great time to talk about how to validate and attribute.
hachyderm.io/@quintessenc...
hachyderm.io/@quintessenc...
quintessence :blobfoxcofecute: (@[email protected])
When sharing a rapid news cycle, how do we share information that is validated and attributed?
"Speed of light" used to be the moniker for things "moving fast", e.g. "oh wow that happened at the spee...
hachyderm.io
April 18, 2025 at 9:42 AM
So news in the United States is breaking "at the speed of information". As I watched the back and forth regarding @jennamclaughlin.bsky.social 's @npr.org article about DOGE and labor data, I thought it was great time to talk about how to validate and attribute.
hachyderm.io/@quintessenc...
hachyderm.io/@quintessenc...
Reposted by Quintessence
H/T to @quintessence.bsky.social for showing me this video. I hadn't seen it before.
Well worth the watch. A good overview of topics I don't know enough about: agender and asexual people.
Well worth the watch. A good overview of topics I don't know enough about: agender and asexual people.
quintessence :blobfoxcofecute: (@[email protected])
Extremist rhetoric defies living memory, and therefore looking at history helps inoculate oneself against extremism and misinformation. This is true whether the history is recent or not.
I was remind...
hachyderm.io
April 16, 2025 at 2:58 PM
H/T to @quintessence.bsky.social for showing me this video. I hadn't seen it before.
Well worth the watch. A good overview of topics I don't know enough about: agender and asexual people.
Well worth the watch. A good overview of topics I don't know enough about: agender and asexual people.
Reposted by Quintessence
We are looking for a motivated and detail-oriented working student to support our impact evaluation efforts through data collection, analysis, and visualization. As part of our research and policy team, you'll play a key role in helping us measure and communicate the outcomes of our work. Details โคต๏ธ
Job: Working Student (all genders) | Sovereign Tech Agency
Our team is growing, thatโs why the Sovereign Tech Agency is looking for a working student to join the Research & Policy team.
www.sovereign.tech
April 15, 2025 at 1:38 PM
We are looking for a motivated and detail-oriented working student to support our impact evaluation efforts through data collection, analysis, and visualization. As part of our research and policy team, you'll play a key role in helping us measure and communicate the outcomes of our work. Details โคต๏ธ
Reposted by Quintessence
20,000 in ruby red Utah on their feet, in community, and ready to organize for a better world.
A better world is possible.
A better world is possible.
April 14, 2025 at 1:25 AM
20,000 in ruby red Utah on their feet, in community, and ready to organize for a better world.
A better world is possible.
A better world is possible.
Gentle Reminder!
1 April is upon us. So please:
* Have fun!
* Don't choose pranks that are triggers to your friends or people in general โค๏ธโ๐ฉน
Also since a lot of places get ... Really Into It ... be wary of any press releases, blog posts, articles, podcasts, etc. in this 48 hr window. โค๏ธ
1 April is upon us. So please:
* Have fun!
* Don't choose pranks that are triggers to your friends or people in general โค๏ธโ๐ฉน
Also since a lot of places get ... Really Into It ... be wary of any press releases, blog posts, articles, podcasts, etc. in this 48 hr window. โค๏ธ
April 1, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Gentle Reminder!
1 April is upon us. So please:
* Have fun!
* Don't choose pranks that are triggers to your friends or people in general โค๏ธโ๐ฉน
Also since a lot of places get ... Really Into It ... be wary of any press releases, blog posts, articles, podcasts, etc. in this 48 hr window. โค๏ธ
1 April is upon us. So please:
* Have fun!
* Don't choose pranks that are triggers to your friends or people in general โค๏ธโ๐ฉน
Also since a lot of places get ... Really Into It ... be wary of any press releases, blog posts, articles, podcasts, etc. in this 48 hr window. โค๏ธ