(Coconut water isn't just a fad either, as while preferences will vary, its nutritional make up is closer to what folks are talking about when they say "electrolytes" than other juices.)

(Ginger soda/beer made with *actual ginger* has the effects of, well, ginger. Which for some reason includes being a MILD antihistamine. It's not a replacement for OTC meds, but it sure as hell helped a LOT when I forgot the host of the Christmas party had cats and I was still allergic)

So basically...Yeah, I agree. There are SO many holes, and there's even MORE holes the more you look into it.

Then you have not only the reactions because of the holes but some of the reactions to the reactions are better at ignoring holes than Wile E Coyote. Which creates defensiveness and yeah.

We also seem to have lost a media ecosystem where fact checking is seen as, well, matter of fact. And while I don't think we ever had one, I do think a media ecosystem where fact checking includes nuances of "it's okay to still not trust google because of [list some of why]" would be nice.

I also know I'm not the only techie who likely did those exact steps which adds to the circulation. Add to it google pulling features that seemed odd to be pulled? Well now folks are just pissed and there's rage/fear fueling things.

Given google's track record, even when I was looking at the checkbox, and what google was claiming a new update would do along with what they were saying unchecking that box would do?

It all checked out as "genAI tracking." I am not a journalist. I cannot fact check the company or demand evidence.

ANother level to this debacle: The way features are explained and rolled out adds to the distrust AND makes it harder for even folks who would normally be able to catch misinfo, to, well, catch it.

Gmail had an update adding more gemini, and a checkbox that says I'm okay giving info for a product

However, I also know the thorniness of piracy within tech and gaming/game dev. So this is me calling on y'all to:

*Support authors (and indie devs) by not pirating their stuff*

I genuinely hope that none of my followers are involved. I super duper hope none of my followers found these authors through my posting/reposting them only to pirate from them.

Also if any of my followers *are* part of this, then this is me calling on you to make amends. Not by some public apology. Certainly not by doing it again after this.

Compensating for the book you pirated by an anonymous method at the very least.

Don't do it in a way that involves forgiveness tho.

"But what about-"

Your exception who found an immense amount of luck that is extremely rare for their field is only that. An exception, not the rule.

There are a LOT of indie studios who yes, have a publisher, and yes, make deals. But there's a lot of unpaid work that has to be done to get there, and once you do, it doesn't even cover much.

Just like how Authors with publishers do a lot of unpaid work, and once they do, the pub money isn't much

Preserving indie games (and software!) is one thing. Pirating though? Same sort of deal. You're potentially fucking with whether or not someone can eat. If this is something they can keep doing. If this is something WORTH doing.

Do not pirate Indie games. Even ones with a publisher. Don't.

That said...Look, it's not the PS3 era or earlier anymore. And while game (and software!) for archival purposes is important as is having multiple archives...There's still nuances to be had that I'm not sure everyone has caught up to.

I want to also note, I call out those spheres of interest specifically because I know those are areas both my follows and followers intersect, and I am REALLY hoping none of you aided this massive collapse in sales for multiple authors, but I ALSO know the pirating takes are different.

But also...Maybe there's indie authors within your region that could use support? Maybe it's okay to not be reading what everyone else is?

I know I have privilege being an American, but if it's a region issue? It's an issue for sure, an overarching one definitely, but pirating isn't the solution.

Use a VPN to *buy* a copy of the book even though you live in another country without causing rights management issues. The author gets to buy an extra box of clearance pasta, and you get a book!

(payment processors I know can still be tricky, but still)

You know one of the reasons for DRM free books? Well it's not so folks could pirate it and reduce sales.

No, it's to encourage sharing just as you would share a physical copy aka with friends and family. Not with the world wide web. Oh, and also so if you live in another country you can...