Retrospring is shutting down on 1st March, 2025 Read more
autistic electronic music and free software nerd. proud weirdo. use your favorite pronouns and keep your drama away from me.
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I'm on Sparkler now!
Same username - https://sparkler.cc/@f00fc7c8
Thus far sparkler looks barebones, but functional. I took a peek at the source code, they're using Rust, aren't rolling their own authentication, and are keeping things simple, all of which are good things. I'm worried about bugs and vulns and the site not scaling well, but things look good so far.
And as before, you may ask for my accounts on instant messaging platforms.
where to start with learning how to code?
there are many pathways, all equally valid
I started with one of Al Sweigart's "Invent with Python" books. There are several, and you can pick the one that interests you the most: https://inventwithpython.com
Only problem with Python is that it's fairly different from other languages, in ways that make it more pleasant to program in most of the time, but might teach you bad habits. If you'd rather learn "the hard way", it might be better to start with Java (which is what my uni teaches), C, or Rust.
If even Python seems like too steep a learning curve, Scratch is a good way to learn the basic theory of programming without jumping straight into a full-on programming language: https://scratch.mit.edu/ - once you have the hang of making games and animations in Scratch, the logic of a more advanced programming language like those mentioned above should make more sense. Scratch is intuitive enough that it's possible to figure out just through trial and error, but if you still want set projects to work through, Al Sweigart also has a book on it (http://inventwithscratch.com/)
Congratulations, mortal! You have answered 1999 questions on this site. In order to ascend into Retrospring godhood, you must answer every question that can possibly be generated by the "Generate Question" button. Good luck!
Here's the list that Retrospring uses to generate those questions. I've gone through and answered every question, including ones that were removed (mostly for very good reasons).
Bonus round! Questions removed from the list:
quick asks & boundaries
Quick asks
0/📱 current status
1/🎹 music recommendation (i recommend, but do not require, that you send me one as well!)
2/📺 video recommendation (don't send me recommendations back, i won't have time to watch them)
3/💽 cool open-source software or services (you may specify a type of software/website you are looking for)
4/👽 Star Trek character (one I associate you with, or just random if I don't know you well enough)
5/🖖 Star Trek episode (you may specify a type of episode you are looking for, or ask for a way to get into the series)
6/🔣 Random fact (most likely about one of my interests)
--
Boundaries
If you involve yourself regularly with drama or queer community/fandom/social justice discourse, you may interact, but I will probably not follow back and may mute you if it is pervasive enough. You are encouraged to talk to me about controversial topics if and only if you are willing to accept that I may disagree with you, and hear me out. In return, I will keep an open mind to what you are saying. If you intend to cut me off, harass me, or go after my friends if I'm not convinced of your position, don't bother asking in the first place.
Non-sexual flirting is okay, but ask before making overtly sexual comments. Since I allow followers under 18 and Retrospring does not yet support content warnings, it may be best to move those conversations to another venue. Feel free to ask for my contact information on other platforms.
how do you open up about yourself and your interests ? im allergic to vulnerability i think . every day i am afraid of being hunted for sport xoxo
i cannot give you advice here. i can only tell you my understanding of my own psyche, with the disclaimer that i am not very mentally healthy, so i might be doing a few things wrong.
for one, i both hate lying (even subtly) and am very afraid of conflict, so i've developed a lot of social strategies to balance the two, basically saying what's on my mind but in a way that makes an adverse reaction less likely. i will only outright lie when i feel i am in genuine danger, but i do bend the truth sometimes to get around a potential conflict. also, weirdly enough, my feelings in this regard are almost exactly the same online as offline, anonymous or not.
i also seem to have a different response to social adversity than others. one of my greatest fears is that people only interact with me because they have misidentified me as a good person. i deal with that by being as honest and vulnerable with friends as i can, so i know they know who i really am. i get embarrassed occasionally, and the memories torment me for years afterwards. but i use that to hone my strategies for avoiding embarrassment while staying honest. (also to develop new complexes and worsen my self-hate, but that's beside the point.) in situations where others would find a reason to hide themselves and their interests, i rarely find those reasons compelling. and sometimes i find new reasons to open up.
that probably isn't helpful (and remember the disclaimer: this might not be healthy), but i hope you get better about vulnerability. it's not as hard or dangerous as it seems. outside of the internet, most people aren't assholes, and the assholes are easy to spot. hiding is not as necessary as you think.
how do you explain linux to someone like me who doesn't have that much knowledge of it?
Linux is an operating system - the basic software that makes a computer function, or the same sort of thing that Windows, OS X, and Android are. In order to maximize its users' control over the operating system, nearly everything to do with the OS's development is open-source (like Mastodon), completely transparent, and interoperates with other programs. This makes Linux great for specialized uses, so it's the dominant operating system for pretty much everything except personal computers and smartphones.
There's no single entity developing Linux; rather, it's pieced together from a lot of different programs created by different people with similar goals. Some of these programs have overlapping uses, and as such Linux can be pieced together in numerous different ways, creating different versions called "distributions" or "distros." The only program every Linux distribution must have is that way on a technicality - the Linux kernel, because it's the namesake of Linux. You pretty much have to make your own choices at every level of the operating system, which is great for users' freedom and control, but not as good for ease of use - and that's the root of pretty much everything good and everything bad about Linux.
Sorry if this is long, but this is what you get for asking an autistic person about his special interest. If you need clarification, please feel free to reply to this or DM me on Mastodon.
I keep seeing more and more signs that I'm autistic. I've scored high on several of the official tests. Is it valid to "self-evaluate," or do most of you go and get an in-person evaluation?
self-diagnosis and self-evaluation are valid, but be careful about it. you could massively improve your mental health, or ruin it. so do your research and don't take extreme measures.
whether you want an official diagnosis is up to you; all it really does is give you something you can show to prove you need accomodation. it also has the downside of potentially denying you rights on the basis of your disability or leading to abusive treatment regimes. it depends on your circumstances whether the positive or negative side shows more, for me it's about neutral.
what's really important is that you accept yourself regardless of diagnosis and don't spend your life trying to conform to social norms that are slowly killing you.
What do you think they're saying on number stations?
"man, i really like the song magnetic fields part 1 by jean michel jarre. i'm just gonna keep playing it over and over again while repeating this message in british intelligence code."
"dammit kevin you're supposed to be spying on the egyptians, not promoting popular french electronic artists! now change that intermission tone to something normal, like the beatles' come together."
"look we all know these stations are useless anyway. we have computers now! we have top secret post-quantum asymmetric encryption algorithms we could be using! why the hell are we talking over radio? back to jean michel jarre."
"KEVIN I SWEAR. you're fired."
Pretty much the archetype of what I imagine when "metal" comes up, but the bass groove in this song is really enjoyable. Had me headbanging the whole way through.
For you: Throwing Snow - Chimera
hiiiii
hello
theres no ceasefire yet。 israel just bombed gaza tonight ,, imagine all the kids that were celebrating the ceasefire just to get massacred once again ,, fuck israel please let the ceasefire happen its the bare minimum let people live
https://x.com/shaykhsulaiman/status/1879581321426764054?s=46&t=ujU4pQErB4UGM_MWSBFCHg
According to the article I read, the ceasefire starts on Sunday and hasn't been fully finalized yet. That said, every massacre should be called out for the brazen act of mass murder that it is.
GUYSS CEASEFIRE HAPPENED OHHMYGODD FINALLY IM SO HAPPY OMHYOGOD
Still needs to be approved by Israel's cabinet, and hopefully they will, but it makes me incredibly happy that the leaders of Israel and Hamas finally saw enough reason to pause this brutal and completely pointless war.
is neo still down?
yea
heyyy I found you
hello!
Do you believe in any of the uncanny valley theories?
What are "the uncanny valley theories"? If you just mean the uncanny valley itself, then yes, I have indeed experienced the phenomenon where things that look almost real are more uncomfortable than things which are clearly not real. But I don't think there's any controversy about that
once in a blue moon qotd!!!!!!!! Do you collect physical media such as dvds, CDs, etc.? Even if you don’t, do you believe it’s worth it?
absolutely! I collect CDs, and to be honest, I don't play them often, but it has been worth it for three reasons:
- the artist sees more money (at least, from new CDs)
- the liner notes can add to the experience significantly
- I get a DRM-free copy of the music that I can play on any of my devices and use however I see fit.
I have a few DVDs, but since they have DRM (which is easily breakable, but still illegal to break) they're not as valuable and I'm more willing to stick to streaming. It's still nice to have them just in case they disappear from the Internet, as they often do.
What's the most important computer skill?
knowing how to find and ask for help
like that
What do you think of hard scifi?
Can be better than soft sci-fi at times, if it's well written - reminds you how cool and beautiful the universe we live in is. If poorly written, it can be more boring than an academic paper, because the writer put realism over telling a compelling story. Thankfully it usually ends up in the "good" category.
the one with the orange cat pfp is me
quite a few, ranging from 4x4 to 8k
actual answer: nothing I'm not already doing
Hahaha… I feel awful. My own sibling is begging me to stay. I should’ve stayed silent. What a selfish brat I am, saying goodbye.
I know you all hate me! Guess one more proshipper is getting cleaned of this platform. Hooray for you.
don't do something you'll end up regretting
What era of MCR should I make cardboard cut outs of? :P
either the one that actually stands for MineCRaft or the one that was secretly Aphex Twin doing a really convincing Gerard Way impression
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