I really wish I could get a @katieporteroc.bsky.social response on this

Yeah, and that's a real document they passed around to every employee - I had to shorten the alt description, because it's more than 2000+ characters.

Constantly it was used against people to prove how well, or (more often) badly, they were doing their jobs. From that gobbledygook.

But in a system where rules are arbitrary, clarity is a liability. You can’t win a game where the goalposts move to protect the people already winning.

Corporate rules are made up. Worse: they’re selectively weaponized. Especially against those of us who expect them to function like actual rules.

Masking didn’t save me. It made me easier to target. My attempts at good faith were reinterpreted as being “difficult.”

I ended up writing formal letters documenting harassment and retaliation. I thought: if I just explained clearly, someone would see.

I tried so hard to follow every new rule I uncovered. I took every principle literally. I adapted obsessively. I learned scripts. I self-monitored. I masked.

Thought: If I just got it 'right' enough, I’d stop getting in trouble. But these weren’t rules. They were vibes, enforced by power dynamics.

I worked at Amazon, where we were judged against something called the Leadership Principles. Sounds logical, right? Except… they contradict each other.

You never knew which principle would be used to justify praise - or punishment - until after the fact.

I absolutely loved this episode, and I loved the variety of people.

Honestly, I wanna see a reel of these people telling you what's interesting about them, because based on the sample we got to see, I bet there are some even wilder stories.

Also, the comics you chose were very different & fun.

I believe they're talking about this chair

www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/r...

pipersong.com

Could be wrong, but it's what came to mind for ADHD chair

I know that feeling, like the world is made of glass and you’re barefoot in every room.

But even shattered things remember heat. You’re doing the quiet, brutal work of turning breakage into shape.

You don’t owe anyone beauty - only yourself a little grace, and time to breathe.

The difference isn’t the cruelty. It’s the complicity.

Vietnam embarrassed us. Gaza is a budget line. A livestreamed extermination subsidized in our names.

Horror doesn’t need hiding when the world has learned to watch without seeing.

We believed Kim. We let her become a symbol.

But Ward is treated like a glitch in the feed - too much, too often, too Palestinian. Her suffering is dissected, diluted, then discarded.

There is no redemptive arc for the child burned with American silence.

This isn’t desensitization. It’s orchestration. We’re not numb; we’re conditioned.

Our grief is throttled by press releases, press briefings, PR-tested pauses.

Gaza is not invisible. It's been made unworthy of reaction by the very hands that set it alight.

Kim Phuc’s image stopped time. A single frame that broke through denial.

But Ward’s agony loops in pixels, not paper. Her fire flickers across a million screens - seen, but not felt.

We don’t witness anymore. We scroll. We look away without ever turning.

But how do you feel? Are there things that would make you cheat to save on tedium or frustration?

Are there other examples you can think of?

Or is it something you would never consider doing regardless of circumstance?

There's no judgement here! (Unless you cheat in an online game)

Larian Studios once said their goal was to “make failure as fun as success” - and it shows.

No grind. No paywalls. Just freedom to explore, fail, cheat death, and laugh about it.

More studios should design like joy matters. Like we matter.

Because we do.

Not everyone can brute-force joy out of a system.

Neurodivergent players, disabled folks, anyone juggling life… We shouldn't have to justify choosing accessibility mods or shortcuts.

Design should serve humans, not just shareholders.