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helenargh.bsky.social
And it's worth fighting for.
@helenargh.bsky.social
1.1K followers 890 following 220 posts
Helen Gould. Sensitivity consultant, EDI trainer, writer. Likes monsters.
Works with Rusty Quill; all views are my own.
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helenargh.bsky.social
And it's worth fighting for. @helenargh.bsky.social · Feb 25
Quick reminder that you can hire me for:

*Sensitivity consultation!
*TTRPG writing!
*Workshops & training on EDI!
*Panels and speaking opportunities!

I am very good at what I do.

Website: hgwriting.co.uk
Carrd: helengould.carrd.co
Reposted by And it's worth fighting for.
clarebyrnes.bsky.social
A population coverage of over 16 million people in the review - and just two complaints for the entirety of 2024!

One complaint was about the 'guidelines' for transgender access to bathrooms.

The second complaint was based on the 'perceived' gender of a person. Not confirmed as a trans person.
November 22, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Reposted by And it's worth fighting for.
susankayequinn.bsky.social
My new favorite kind of meme is "here are detailed instructions on how to turn off AI". 🔨
ABI Bouhmaida @forgoodcode Every Windows 11 PC is now an Al PC with Copilot at the center of it all. Here's how to get rid of Copilot completely from your computer (1/3) ABI Bouhmaida @forgoodcode 1/ Settings App > Personalization > Taskbar > Other System Tray Icons > Switch "Microsoft 365 Copilot App" Off This hides Copilot from your taskbar (9) ABI Bouhmaida @forgoodcode 2/ Press Win + R > Type in ‘regedit’ > Navigate to "HKEY _CURRENT_USER\ Software \ Policie s\Microsoft\ Windows" > Right-click on the "Windows" Key > New > Key > Name the new key "WindowsCopilot’ > Right-click on the new key EY > DWORD (32-bit) Value @forgoodcode 3/ > Name the value "TurnOffWindowsCopilot’ > Double-click the name of the value > Set the "Value Data" to 1 > Restart your computer Congrats! Copilot is now completely gone from your computer. Hope this helps
November 19, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Reposted by And it's worth fighting for.
tristangrayford.scot
Shot - chaser - finisher

The EHRC admits there's no way to enforce anti-trans exclusion using paperwork.

Therefore it's only possible using gender stereotypes.

Therefore they defend excluding basically anyone who might be suspected of being trans.

A recipe for utter chaos.
The new guidance also removes a suggestion in an earlier draft that those running services could in “necessary and proportionate circumstances” ask to see a birth certificate or gender recognition certificate (GRC) if they suspected someone was lying about their sex. The final code instead says it would “unlikely be proportionate or practical to ask for further evidence of a person’s sex” even if doubts were raised. It said “there is no type of official record or document in the UK which provides reliable evidence of sex” because people can change their sex on passports and driving licences without a GRC. Under the new guidance, places such as hospital wards, gyms and leisure centres will be able to question transgender women over whether they should be using single-sex services based on how they look, their behaviour or concerns raised by others. If there is doubt they are telling the truth about their sex, they could be banned from using those services once those running them had considered “relevant factors”. But it says that if there is “genuine concern about the accuracy of the response” it may be proportionate to exclude a transgender person anyway.
November 19, 2025 at 10:45 PM
Reposted by And it's worth fighting for.
tristangrayford.scot
It will take literally one court case where a company gets sued by a cis person for denying them access to toilets on suspicion of being trans for this all to fall apart.

And this guidance makes that case inevitable.
tristangrayford.scot Tristan Grayford @tristangrayford.scot · 6d
"We've had a complaint that another customer thinks you might not be a 'real woman'. There's no way for us to prove they're wrong so you can't use the toilet. No you can't use that toilet either. No we don't need to provide an alternative, there's not enough space."
November 20, 2025 at 10:29 AM
Reposted by And it's worth fighting for.
neolithicsheep.bsky.social
authors you have the chance to do the funniest thing right now
arstechnica.com Ars Technica @arstechnica.com · Aug 27
AI advocates have warned that if every author in the class action filed a claim, it would "financially ruin" the entire industry.
Authors celebrate “historic” settlement coming soon in Anthropic class action
Advocates fear such settlements will “financially ruin” the AI industry.
arstechnica.com
November 18, 2025 at 4:35 AM
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katarinahunt.bsky.social
Whomst among us hasn't felt a little vacuum about snackie all done
November 18, 2025 at 7:02 AM
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jennykaynz.bsky.social
RIP Alice Wong, author, #HumanRights activist, disabled warrior and fierce with it! Farewell @sfdirewolf.bsky.social
😢
If you haven't heard of Alice Wong, here's an interview from earlier in 2025 on her receiving a 2024 MacArthur ‘genius’ award.
🏆
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Disability advocate Alice Wong on resistance in the new year: ‘Life is a dumpster fire, but I’m not alone’
The activist, who received a 2024 MacArthur ‘genius’ grant, reflects on a moment that changed her life – and why she finds hope in sci-fi
www.theguardian.com
November 15, 2025 at 8:30 AM
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wolvendamien.bsky.social
This is one of the most recent things Alice did. It was, as ever, a clear, trenchant, messy, and powerful exploration of not just her own experiences but also society's expectations around disability.
November 15, 2025 at 3:31 PM
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reactiveashley.bsky.social
1/🧵 Day 2 of 2. Today at 10:30am, High Court in London, Court 1, before Mr Justice Swift, R (Good Law Project, on the application of) v Equality and Human Rights Commission, a rolled-up hearing for judicial review of EHRC’s “interim update”.

No live reporting, sorry.
reactiveashley.bsky.social Ashleeee 🌊🪭 @reactiveashley.bsky.social · 13d
1/🧵 Today at 10:30am, High Court in London, Court 1, before Mr Justice Swift, R (Good Law Project, on the application of) v Equality and Human Rights Commission, a rolled-up hearing for judicial review of EHRC’s “interim update” (Day 1 of 2)

No live reporting, sorry.
November 13, 2025 at 12:09 PM
Reposted by And it's worth fighting for.
reactiveashley.bsky.social
1/🧵 Today at 10:30am, High Court in London, Court 1, before Mr Justice Swift, R (Good Law Project, on the application of) v Equality and Human Rights Commission, a rolled-up hearing for judicial review of EHRC’s “interim update” (Day 1 of 2)

No live reporting, sorry.
November 12, 2025 at 10:40 AM
Reposted by And it's worth fighting for.
superdillin.bsky.social
I got a very moving Ask about avoiding defeatism on the forbidden website, and I wanted to share it because it's something I believe very strongly
a tumblr ask post. anonymous asked, If this isn't overstepping, do you have any advice for not falling into defeatism? You seem good at having hope for the future. Superdillin answered, It's NOT easy. The world doesn't make it easy. But take a look at someone you love. Or someone who brings you joy, whether you know them intimately or not. Would you want them to give up? At their lowest moment would you tell them there's no point, and that there's no chance that things get better? Likely not, but it's harder to turn that grace inward. To widen that same concept, make sure you are looking at the overwhelming amounts of people who are helping to make the world better. The food bank operators and the organizers and the caretakers and the volunteers. People who research under-funded illnesses and who vaccinate in their local neighborhoods. People who create art and share it with strangers to feel connection. People who make soup for their sick loved ones and who encourage them to achieve their dreams. None of those people deserve to be told that none of it is worth it. And the world would be worse if a single one of them gave up. And the world would be worse if you did, too.
November 12, 2025 at 12:58 AM
Reposted by And it's worth fighting for.
writnelson.bsky.social
We don’t use generative AI at Strange Scaffold and I can confirm that a *lot* of other studios are not—whether indie or AAA.

Get outta here with this normalization bullshit.
November 12, 2025 at 3:25 AM
helenargh.bsky.social
I've seen a bit of chatter starting about this, so quick update from me - I spoke to the BBC for their podcast series "Anatomy of a Cancellation", mostly in episode five. You can find it here: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand...
BBC Sounds - Shadow World - Available Episodes
Listen to the latest episodes of Shadow World on BBC Sounds.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 9, 2025 at 10:38 AM
Reposted by And it's worth fighting for.
ddiamond.bsky.social
sometimes an Oxford comma can make all the difference
What we're watching: A new take on "Frankenstein," a lavish legal drama starring Kim Kardashian and a Tracy Morgan-led spinoff.
November 8, 2025 at 12:36 PM
helenargh.bsky.social
I'm going to be at this! Looking forward to seeing folks there 😊
soulmuppet.co.uk SoulMuppet Publishing 🔜 PAXU @soulmuppet.co.uk · 20d
📣MuppetMeet 2025 Announcement!

Join us and a host of fantastic guest speakers on the evening before Dragonmeet (Friday 28th Nov) for an evening of #TTRPG industry networking and knowledge sharing.
Be sure to grab your FREE tickets here: dragonmeet.co.uk/tickets

👇Read more about what's on 👇
Muppetmeet 2025 poster. Excel Center London - 28th November. An evening of networking and TTRPG industry knowledge-sharing Muppetmeet 2025 talk schedules split into business track and creative track. Business Track: 6pm - I took this marketing course so you don't have to with Mol Joule from SoulMuppet 7:15pm: Making Games While the world burns: dealing with Tomorrow's Crisis. With Zachary Cox moderating, Kay Lubwika Bartlett from Roll and Play Emmet Byrne from Old Oak Games, and Cat Tobin from Pelgrane Press 8:30pm: What are you r rates? Well... what's your budget? Dancing the dance of Freelancer Rates. With Mol Joule moderating, Helen Gould, Eryk Sawicki and Luke Gearing. Creative Track: 6pm Being a book sicko: a crash course in printing with Zachary Cox 7:15pm Sociall Conscious Games with Eryk Sawicki moderating, George Blandy from Three Sails Studios, David Blandy from Copy/Paste Co-op and Laurie O'Connel from Twelve Pins Press. 8:30pm Our Games on your screens: Designing for APs and APs for Designers. With Aida Branez, co-founder of EUphoria and Nathan Blades, a freelance voice actor and designer.
November 8, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Reposted by And it's worth fighting for.
snig.bsky.social
I see the 2021 scandal around Kate Clanchy's book "Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me" is back in the news as Clanchy receives an apology from the publisher of that book. Here's a reminder of the racism, Islamophobia, anti-LGBT comments, and fat shaming from the book.
"Like all the Syrian kids, she is very pretty: pale skinned & dark eyed with a sensitive mouth & a tiny, high-pitched voice." p263 "Izzat so small & square & Afghan with his big nose & premature moustache." p139 "Aadil always seems so grand: a tall Somali boy with a deep, African voice, & the almost aristocratically calm manner that sometimes goes with being extremely good-looking." p85 "Cumar is long & slender as many of the Somali kids are, with a thin nose, narrow skull, & very dark, almost black skin. Aadil is more muscular & square-set, with chocolate-coloured skin, a broad-based nose, & rounded head." p85 "Jonathon, six-foot five inches tall with a slow, resonant African accent." p78 & "Tall, strong, African Jonathon." p243 "The small round Priti & her taller, silent cousin, Priya." p93 "She would call out to me for words, urgently, her black, almond-shaped eyes snapping, slim fingers blossoming." p108 All so different from "my Nordic height & Celtic colouring". Hijabs Clanchy thinks about hijabs - a lot. "I wonder again what Shakila does to her hijab, & why it seems to sit fuller & higher than the other girls' - a Mother Superior hijab, or one from Vermeer. It can't be starched. Maybe it's draped over twisted horns of hair like Carrie Fisher's in Star Wars. That would go with her furry eyebrows, her slanting, sparkling black eyes, her general, Mongolian ferocity." p78 "Her high-set, starched hijab - did she have extra ears under there?" p109 "It is possible to wear a flirty hijab, like Samira's leopard-patterned one. & that Farida's dress may be loose & floor-length, but it still manages to show the beautiful lines of her figure when she hitches it tight around her as she sits by the basketball courts." p117 "If I could put a burqa on Susie & Kristell tomorrow, I would. A year or two of being invisible to the male gaze, of going home quietly to study, could only be liberating, & enabling too, of the rest of their lives... It's important to say that nothing that Susie or Kristell ever wear, however brief, entitles them to any abuse, ever." p165 LGBTQI+ Clanchy is supportive of gay pupils, although she's hampered by stereotypes & sees camp as a "statement of otherness". Nevertheless, she takes an 18-year old to his first gay club, which she admits wouldn't be acceptable now. She sends him in with the words: ""Liam,' I said, 'I love you. You have to promise me to always use a condom & never get AIDS." p33 But she's more dismissive of trans pupils. Like much of what she writes, I understand the concern she's raising, but the tone is trivialising: "Are we all 'fluid' now? Perhaps. It is commonplace to proclaim oneself transsexual. & to actually be gay, especially if you are as pretty as Kristen Stewart is positively fashionable. A couple of kids have even changed gender, a decision so deliciously of the moment, so furiously defended by righteous students against non-existent opposition from staff that I worry only that they won't feel the freedom to change back if they feel the need." p34 Weight All the critical comments about weight are applied to girls, & most are in a section about health. Clanchy tries to include a compensatory compliment, but there are weird sexualising & classist undercurrents: "When Kristell arrived in Year 9, she had a bosomy, curvy figure, with a tiny waist & pretty ankles... She had a soft, breathy voice to match the Bambi lashes & fresh mouth." p237 Later "She has put on a great deal of weight, so that the pretty figure is blurred... The dark eyes gazing out of the fat pink cheeks are still so very lovely." p238-9 "Danielle really was special: she was exquisitely pretty in the dark & elfin, Audrey Hepburn mode. She knew it too; she was always finding occasion to take off her clothes & expose her pale, beautifully turned limbs." p233 Later "As if refusing middle-class food along with middle-class ambition, Danielle put on weight... her new bosom protruding ever more bulbously... I was surprised how hurt I was to see it. It wasn't the flesh so much as the loss of grace." p234 I know what she means with this next one, & there is a valid point. It's probably intended to be self-deprecating & tongue-in-cheek, but... "Lianne is stuffing fig rolls, my favourite, into her pretty fat face, & it is very hard indeed not to have one. I can manage it, I think, in the same way that I can manage to finish a poem, because I am middle class. Because, since I was a tiny child, I have been taught to wait for long-term goals." p235
November 4, 2025 at 5:07 PM
helenargh.bsky.social
I am so proud and grateful to be a small part of this company ❤️ It was a wonderful play, and I continue to be awed by the incredible work of my friends & colleagues!
rustyquill.com Rusty Quill @rustyquill.com · 19d
Tonight is the final performance of #MagnusLive The Hilltop at The Clapham Grand. This is, to our knowledge, the first ever full, professional theatrical stage adaptation of a fiction podcast. (1/3)
A photograph of a rehearsal. Three wooden chairs sit on a stage in a line. Sasha Sienna sits on the far right one, speaking with Alexander J Newall, who is standing in front of the stage. White fog billows around the surface of the stage. A photograph of a VIP Q&A session. On a stage, six red chairs sit in a line. From left to right, seated are Jessica Anson, Lowri Ann Davies, Alexander J Newall, Sasha Sienna, Shahan Hamza and Jonathan Sims. Jonathan is speaking and the others are all turned to look at him. A photograph of an audience at the Clapham Grand, bathed in cyan and magenta light. A photograph from rehearsals. Alexander J Newall relaxes on a chair with Shahan Hamza posing behind him.
November 6, 2025 at 11:37 PM
Reposted by And it's worth fighting for.
rustyquill.com
You can find merchandise at rusty-quill.dashery.com

A professional videographer will be creating a recording of the production. We will share more information on this at a later date. (3/3)
Shop Official Merch by Rusty Quill
Rusty Quill is an industry leading independent production company and podcast network. Home of The Magnus Archives, Neon Inkwell, Rusty Quill Gaming, Stellar Firma, Trice Forgotten, RQ Network and mor...
rusty-quill.dashery.com
November 6, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Reposted by And it's worth fighting for.
soulmuppet.co.uk
📣MuppetMeet 2025 Announcement!

Join us and a host of fantastic guest speakers on the evening before Dragonmeet (Friday 28th Nov) for an evening of #TTRPG industry networking and knowledge sharing.
Be sure to grab your FREE tickets here: dragonmeet.co.uk/tickets

👇Read more about what's on 👇
Muppetmeet 2025 poster. Excel Center London - 28th November. An evening of networking and TTRPG industry knowledge-sharing Muppetmeet 2025 talk schedules split into business track and creative track. Business Track: 6pm - I took this marketing course so you don't have to with Mol Joule from SoulMuppet 7:15pm: Making Games While the world burns: dealing with Tomorrow's Crisis. With Zachary Cox moderating, Kay Lubwika Bartlett from Roll and Play Emmet Byrne from Old Oak Games, and Cat Tobin from Pelgrane Press 8:30pm: What are you r rates? Well... what's your budget? Dancing the dance of Freelancer Rates. With Mol Joule moderating, Helen Gould, Eryk Sawicki and Luke Gearing. Creative Track: 6pm Being a book sicko: a crash course in printing with Zachary Cox 7:15pm Sociall Conscious Games with Eryk Sawicki moderating, George Blandy from Three Sails Studios, David Blandy from Copy/Paste Co-op and Laurie O'Connel from Twelve Pins Press. 8:30pm Our Games on your screens: Designing for APs and APs for Designers. With Aida Branez, co-founder of EUphoria and Nathan Blades, a freelance voice actor and designer.
November 5, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Reposted by And it's worth fighting for.
slimyswampghost.bsky.social
don't let them make you think this is something you need.
doomboy.bsky.social doom boy @doomboy.bsky.social · 28d
the nyt posts this stuff like avoiding AI for 48 hours is hard and meanwhile i have literally never once intentionally used an AI program for anything ever
October 28, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Reposted by And it's worth fighting for.
jonnysims.bsky.social
Hey, you know how you're always saying "Jonny, why isn't there a good TTRPG about collecting and battling adorable monsters?"
Well, some good friends of ours had the same thought, and they decided to so something about it!
Check it out - it's properly excellent.

www.kickstarter.com/projects/ilg...
JourneyMon: Monster Trainer Roleplaying
A narrative, collaborative world-building tabletop roleplaying game about friendship and monster battles.
www.kickstarter.com
October 28, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Reposted by And it's worth fighting for.
ewacat.bsky.social
no mr blobby isn't a cryptid because the horror of mr blobby is that we KNOW he exists. he is a constant threat
December 13, 2024 at 10:15 AM
Reposted by And it's worth fighting for.
discoelysiumbot.bsky.social
That we continue to persist at all is a testament to our faith in one another.
October 22, 2025 at 8:10 AM
Reposted by And it's worth fighting for.
radiodeadair.com
BY THE WAY

If you've updated to Windows 11 recently, you're probably on version 25H2.

There's a new setting in Settings: Privacy & Security.

Scroll aaaaaaaalll the way to the bottom and you'll see "Text and Image Generation."

TURN IT OFF.
Screenshot from Windows Settings>Privacy and Security>Text and image Generation. "Text and image generation uses on-device AI technologies to quickly respond to requests. Turning this settings off will not affect apps and features using cloud AI technologies. Text and image generation Windows and anyone using this device can use Text and image generation.
October 17, 2025 at 12:58 AM