Sven Slootweg @joepie91@pixie.town

@time_for_kindness A note for men who think "I couldn't help her because she'd think I was a creep too": you can absolutely help her. You go up to the dude and say something along the lines of "hey man, great to see you again - didn't we meet at that conference (party, concert, etc)? The one with whats-his-face?" and get him talking to you instead of to her. And if he follows her anyway, then you start in on "hey man, I don't think she wants to talk to you - leave her alone”.

The term passing comes from Black folk and it's a term describing an aspect of Colorism, which is an aspect of Racism, and if you are talking about passing at all–despite the weirdly appropriated usage of the term–fucking ALL of that pertains directly to you in a very real and substantive way on many axes.

Black folk interacting with whiteness encounter "passing" because effectively passing means "A close enough proximity to whiteness to be protected by the same structures that protect white people."

White trans people "passing," especially white trans WOMEN, is not about "looking like a woman" because there are plenty of Black, AAPI, and other women who get misgendered all the time. It's about "looking like a northern European construct of womanhood."

That's meaningful. And Black writers, especially Black WOMEN writers, have written about this for generations, because we live within that context.

There have been quite a few white trans people, mostly Trans women, over the past couple weeks, both here and in person, talking about "passing" and… y'all:

👏 Read 👏 Black 👏 Writing👏

I wish people would spend more time thinking about what is possible, and less about what isn't possible. Don't let your thoughts be a prison

This is a really excellent read - @cafkafk going out to Eurorust to essentially investigate the military contractor Helsing and their footing in the Rust community, to determine the impact of such contractors on FOSS communities.

https://cafkafk.dev/p/eurorust-2024-helsing/

I know some furries fall back on AI because they worry about art skill, and the thing about AI is that it's not bad because you're "shortcutting" art, it's bad because it defeats the purpose of art.

The point of art is communicative. It says something about you. It shares an idea in a way that words can't.

Your crappiest artwork is already enough if it does that. Fuck gatekeeping, be proud of the things you draw.

Next free idea: e-reader with bellows, so you can roughly feel when you’ve got one of those long ones to get through.

Since I know you’re going to ask: yes—it makes a wheezing, honking sound if you collapse it quickly for travel and/or amusement.

Minecraft Access: A World of Blocks, Blindness, and Brilliance 🌍💎 #MinecraftAccess #InclusiveGaming

Seven years ago, I lost my sight—and with it, I thought I’d lost the chance to play Minecraft. Back in my sighted days, Minecraft was my escape hatch to infinite creativity. Build a castle? Sure. Survive the night? Done. Accidentally set your house on fire because you put lava in the wrong place? Look, we’ve all been there.

But when I lost my vision, Minecraft felt like a closed door. And while games might not be life’s top priority, let’s admit it—they’re a fantastic way to unwind. Losing that world stung.

That’s where Minecraft Access comes in. It’s a mod that makes the game accessible for blind players. Sounds amazing, right? When I first tried it four months ago, though, things didn’t go as planned. I wandered aimlessly, got hopelessly lost, and rage-quit before a creeper even had the chance to blow me up. But yesterday, armed with more patience (and probably less sanity), I decided to give it another go.

And you know what? This time, I crushed it. Well, not literally—I didn’t fall into lava, for once! I set up an underground base, complete with a wheat farm and an infinite water source. I mined iron, found diamonds (yes, diamonds! I’m rich!), and lit up my surroundings so mobs wouldn’t spawn. Because let’s be honest, nothing says “bad day” like being smacked by a zombie you can’t even see.

So how does this all work? Minecraft Access narrates the block in your crosshair, tells you its position, and makes inventory and crafting fully accessible. I navigate with ASDW keys, craft like a pro, and honestly, I feel like I’ve rediscovered a part of myself I thought was gone.

Of course, it’s not all smooth sailing. Navigating the terrain is like playing a guessing game where the prize is not falling into a ravine. And while I can build functional stuff, making it visually appealing? Let’s just say my creations won’t win any beauty contests. But hey, I can still mine, explore, and survive—and that feels like magic.

The real heroes here are the developers of Minecraft Access. Turning a game this visual into something a blind player can enjoy is a Herculean task. They’ve done something incredible, and they deserve all the praise (and maybe some pizza, because who doesn’t love pizza?).

If you’re curious or want to say thank you to these legends, check out their GitHub page or hop on their Discord. They’ve made Minecraft a world for everyone, and that’s worth celebrating.

https://github.com/khanshoaib3/minecraft-access

Minecraft has always been about endless possibilities. Thanks to this mod, those possibilities now extend to players like me. Who knows? Maybe I’ll even build a castle someday... if I can figure out where the stairs go. 😅

#BlindGamer #GamingWithoutLimits #Accessibility #Minecraft

BREAKING: Are people criticising your behaviour? Researchers say these are likely "haters", jealous of your many accomplishments. Click here for more.

Cruel and ineffective policies and the culture of inaction from neoliberal governments often leave people to fend for themselves.

#FluConf2025 has a dedicated track for Solidarity Networks and Community Health, through which we aim to promote bottom-up efforts to organize our own social safety nets.

We want to hear from people raising awareness about policy vacuums, building coalitions between adjacent camps, and working at the margins to address underserved demographics. Share your stories about public infrastructure, mutual aid, boycotts, unionization, strikes, legal defense, debt-forgiveness, and other forms of collective action.

How are you countering misinformation about public health topics? How do we build resilience in our communities and welcome newcomers? How can we take care of each other in the wake of wars, climate disasters, lgbtq persecution, and unnecessary poverty.

Apply up until midnight, January 19th, 2025 (anywhere on Earth)

https://fluconf.online/apply/

#solarpunk #publicHealth #mutualAid #mutualism #solidarity #volunteering #cooperation #coop #coops #disasters #disaster #preparedness #poverty #healthcare #boycott #collectives #collectiveCare #collectiveAction #union #unions #unionize

if you aren't designing your thing so at any moment if the people who use it decide you have come under the thrall of some malevolent spirit they can boil you up and eat your ass like a soup then is it even really open source