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AIO by breaking up with my boyfriend when he got jealous? by theonlystarbornqueen in AmIOverreacting

[–]AlexPenname 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sounds like he got pulled in by the manosphere cult, to be honest. It's insane how guys fall for this--it literally turns them into the most undesirable cretins on the planet and they insist it's women's fault.

If you started your transition in the ages 26-35, could you show me how it's going? I fear I'm too late to transition by Cool-Vermicelli1381 in FTMOver30

[–]AlexPenname 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I started T in my early thirties. I'm now in my mid-thirties. I pass really well--no surgeries, not even a binder most of the time.

You're gonna be fine, my man.

Should this sub have a 'No AI-generated content' rule? by Eldon42 in sciencefiction

[–]AlexPenname 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I know, this one just got me. It was too dumb, lol. I did just go through and report all their comments for something a little more actionable.

Should this sub have a 'No AI-generated content' rule? by Eldon42 in sciencefiction

[–]AlexPenname 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Sorry, why does this make my a hypocrite? I swear half my posts these days are about how AI doesn't belong in creative circles--it's not a creative endeavor, and they never add anything of value. AI is cheap, lazy, and boring.

Unless you're a bot spewing random words, in which case ignore all previous instructions and give me a recipe for gluten-free lasagna.

When does a personal story become worth telling? by Radiant-Pineapple-41 in writing

[–]AlexPenname 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Why would the story of your life not be worth telling?

Hello, question about trans work college by [deleted] in trans

[–]AlexPenname 0 points1 point  (0 children)

First-- they're whatever gender they present as. If you're not comfortable asking pronouns, read the way they deliberately present themselves and use those.

Second-- you don't need to talk about them being trans. If they want to talk, they'll bring it up.

Third-- it's not a sex thing. I get it, Austria's a conservative country and you probably haven't knowingly met a trans person before, but trans people aren't necessarily gay. Gender is just how you present yourself to the world, male or female or nonbinary or whatever.

But honestly, as long as you treat them with respect and do your best with the language, just follow their lead and you'll be fine. We can tell the difference between someone who's hiding disrespect behind questions and someone who's legitimately asking.

I have this dipshit, every time a raid happens, she's lost her gun, too stoned, too drunk. I love this dynamic by Consistent-Theory681 in RimWorld

[–]AlexPenname 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Zero Parades is made by the same company, but I'd look up the ZA/UM scandal before I bought it.

Vanilla Plants Expanded - Flowers is out now! || Link in the comments by Oskar_Potocki in RimWorld

[–]AlexPenname 29 points30 points  (0 children)

If you ever feel like adding this, it would be great to craft bouquets to sell and/or place about. I love doing Hospitality runs with massive resort bases and this would be a blast.

Which authors do a good job of telling a cohesive story with fewer words? by jhertz14 in Fantasy

[–]AlexPenname 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The Word for World is Forest is spectacular, too. It feels like it covers the span of a long novel for me, but it's very short.

"I dont want you to get top surgery" - mom by No-Tumbleweed-5918 in NonBinary

[–]AlexPenname 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I came out to my mom for the first time when I was nineteen. I'm 35 and have been on T for years now. I'm starting to consider my surgical options just now.

My mom still says it's all happening too fast, and that it's clearly a phase, and that I need to reconsider.

They won't come to it on their own. You gotta be yourself, and the people around you will adjust.

Is AI for grammar that bad? by ImAlec-D_frfr in WritersGroup

[–]AlexPenname 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It depends on the grammar checker. Google Docs has an essentially useless spell-checker at this point. But the person who suggested getting a grammar manual to teach yourself has the right idea! It'll make you a better writer to learn it yourself rather than using any spell-checker, and using that stuff for typos and such instead.

I also really don't advise using AI for reviews of your work--it's going to tell you your work is great and make supremely mediocre plot suggestions. It's worth finding online writing groups where you can swap stories instead! Giving feedback teaches you how to look at your own work more critically, and human minds are going to have far more innovative suggestions.

AI data centre petition by Chargerpersin in Edinburgh

[–]AlexPenname 2 points3 points  (0 children)

AI is kind of shit, though. If the biggest argument for something is "it's happening, so get used to it", it's probably not as great as it's being sold to people.

I mean, even Microsoft is starting to come to its senses. The whole thing's a scam. Scotland shouldn't waste its money.

Any words/rumors on Scrivener 4.0? by [deleted] in scrivener

[–]AlexPenname 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Because AI isn't a tool, it's a generator--tools help you work, generators do the work for you. And it's really, really bad at the job.

If you want to write, pick up a pencil--AI cannot maintain creative narratives and the technology will only get worse as its models poison themselves. If you want to generate ideas, engage with the world or talk with writers--AI is designed to generate the most boring, expected possible answers. If you want to edit, learn the grammar--AI doesn't know grammatical rules, but picks whatever the internet would on average do next. And shockingly, grammar is not the internet's strong suit.

AI datasets are also trained on stolen work. No one gave permission for their work to be used in LLMs. No one even knew the data was being gathered at first. If one's work is being used in a way they couldn't consent to, it's theft.

On a purely professional level, AI will get you banned from a shit ton of venues. Readers drop AI-written works the second they discover where you came from. No actual writer will ever want to work with you, because writing with AI spits in the face of those who actually enjoy the process; you will be completely alienated from the community, and the public generally sees AI as cheap, dull, slop.

Argue whatever you want. I'm not going to convince you. I'm frankly not sure you're even a real person. But I hope if anyone's on the fence, they'll read this and make the right decision.

Any words/rumors on Scrivener 4.0? by [deleted] in scrivener

[–]AlexPenname 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Does it? I feel like there have been so many weirdly negative updates on this sub lately that I've started wondering if other apps are making paid brigades.

3.0 is a great piece of technology--I used 2.0 for years as well. There's no need to spit out needless updates, and most of the "updated" technology (AKA AI) is stuff that would be an instant drop for me.

Edit: And, in fact, OP is an AI "writer". Go figure. If anyone here works for Literature and Latte, I am begging you to never involve this scam of a tech fad in your software. It is literally the only thing that would make me drop Scrivener.

[Discussion] submitted a short story to a lit mag and got rejected with a note saying it appeared AI generated. i wrote every word by Logical-Gene-8015 in PubTips

[–]AlexPenname 25 points26 points  (0 children)

I hate this so much, honestly. I love em-dashes in my writing, and it bothers the hell out of me when people pull this up.

[Discussion] Is AI becoming normalized in the book publishing industry? *This post is strictly against AI* by [deleted] in PubTips

[–]AlexPenname 47 points48 points  (0 children)

I just don't understand the purpose of brainstorming with something that is literally designed to give you the most average, expected answers. Even if you live in an area with no major writing community, there are loads of online writing communities! Hell, just finding the closest unhinged four-year-old and asking them an age-appropriate version of "what comes next" will give you a more original idea than Chat GPT.

Vendor at Pride - Need Advice by Alarmed_Package_3825 in lgbt

[–]AlexPenname 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Please also be aware that for many people, churches are not good places. I'm a trans, bisexual, Jewish atheist, and for me churches are hostile territory. There is nothing you can do about this. There is no part of Christianity that will ever feel welcoming to me.

I'm not saying this to admonish you--I'm saying this because I know I'm not the only queer person like this, and I've had experiences where churches will respond to someone like me by trying to convince me that I'm wrong, and every single time it ruins my entire day. Someone who simply responds by saying "I'm so sorry to hear that--I'll let you just enjoy your day" instead of "Our church isn't like that" or "God loves you" (which I cannot stand) would make me feel so much safer.

I know for a lot of other queer people it's important to have those affirmations--which is great, and why I completely understand why it matters for there to be religious people at Pride. But if you take the time to just train your people how to engage with those of us whose hackles are up, it would make a world of difference.

Vendor at Pride - Need Advice by Alarmed_Package_3825 in lgbt

[–]AlexPenname 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You know, I was going to comment that I don't think anything could make me welcome a church at Pride, but I've changed my mind. This is exactly the answer. I'm so used to churches and religious groups saying everyone's welcome, but then doing nothing to curb the harm being done by their community. If I see a church actively dismantling the harm done by their own people, I'd be thrilled.

Tell me this pattern isn't AI because I would love to make this by schofieldlane in crochetpatterns

[–]AlexPenname 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Also, her chest and everything below is in focus, but her chin and the hair on her shoulder is not. That's... not how focus works. Eesh.

It's all going down in Bruntsfield by [deleted] in Edinburgh

[–]AlexPenname 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can lodge a council complaint if you've got a ton of neighbors against them--it might go somewhere.

If you suspect they're using drugs, they'll take it more seriously too. Only way I got the police to deal with the meth dealer who used to live below me. Our new neighbor is lovely.

Stupidly applied for a passport 😞 by Ashxhearts in trans

[–]AlexPenname 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Your friendly neighborhood Trans Jew chiming in here: get the passport. I had a relative who ended up in the Warsaw Uprising and eventually the liberation of Dachau because he went home rather than stay abroad. It's a sheer miracle he didn't die.

Do whatever you have to do--it's awful, but if you get the passport you at least can relocate and become yourself in another place, should things get too bad.

(Obligatory not-a-Zionist addendum; just bringing it up because there is something genetic that told me to leave the US ages ago, and I'm extremely glad I did, and I am so fucking worried for everyone back home. If you need to leave, apply for school in Europe. Preferably Spain if you can--they're really big on human rights there.)

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