My ex has brought up a GoFundMe for someone who needs a little bit of help. Details in his journal: https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/11054534

Since everyone is, understandably, bitching about the issues with AI generated art, I figured I'd post my two cents...

I, personally, am not opposed to AI generated art in and of itself.... I am VERY opposed to some of the stupid shit being done with it, however.

STUPID SHIT ABOUT AI GENERATED ART:
1) Massive AI art dumps. If one is going to post AI art on a site that allows it, save it for particularly strong results.
2) AI art commissions. I've messed around a bit with NovelAI, I know what you can get out of it for a LOT LESS than these pieces of scum charge.
3) AI adoptables. I probably think more lowly of these than AI "artists" who do commissions - at least an "AI artist" can CLAIM to be particularly adept at getting the algorithms to try(and fail) to justify his prices. There is no reason whatsoever to buy an adoptable created through AI.
4) Sites putting art into AI algorithms without artists' consent. I think this speaks for itself.
5) Passing it off as real art. Again, I think this speaks for itself.

THINGS I AM NEUTRAL ABOUT ON AI GENERATED ART:
1) Whether or not a site allows AI art. If they had restrictions in place to prevent the above from being an issue I would be perfectly okay.
2) The usage of other people's art in the generation of works. New artists have always used other people's works as a basis for learning the craft. If it's in the public eye, this is likely to happen, so in my mind, the difference is in the nature of the usage - using someone's artwork to make a minor variation of the original piece I frown upon. Using it force the AI to make a pose you want is fine - you can't own poses, after all.

GOOD THINGS ABOUT AI GENERATED ART:
1) It can be a good teaching tool - Since time immemorial, artists have always had to deal with the dreaded "tracers" - an often necessary tool for new artists to learn, but all too often done too closely to the original work to qualify as an original piece. But who cares if someone generated a piece of AI artwork and used THAT to trace?
2) Creating images for stories - if one is writing their own story, and can get an AI art generator to be consistent, I see no reason they could not use AI art to more easily insert imagery into a story.
3) Basic character concepts. Some people struggle to put into words what they want when creating a character, and AI art can help with that - by generating a basic character concept to build off of when commissioning an actual artist, expressing what one wants can be made easier. The imperfect AI art leads to a much better and concise character design drawn by an actual artist, and makes the job of interpreting the commissioner's wants easier on the artist.

AI generated art is understandably controversial, but if one stops for a moment and sits back to think, the benefits of it when used properly can be obvious. There's a lot of stupid bullshit surrounding AI generated art, but the best way to combat it is to ban the stupid uses and encourage the kind of uses of it I outline above. Don't ban outright, ban bullshit, encourage thoughtfulness, and ALWAYS require AI art to be tagged as such.

I'll let this speak for itself:

http://www.racer.com/international/.....-first-f3-race

Hope he continues to be awesome.

Just thought I'd let you all know how things have been so far since the move.

The simple answer is: Just fine. I'm luckily located in a Detroit suburb that avoids the majority of the criminal insanity Detroit is known for recently, so I have little concern about the people in my immediate vicinity, and I've settled into the new job very well.

Separation from  xeroprime has of course sucked a fair bit, but I'm managing it better than I expected - it helps that we still talk regularly on IM, and having made friends with a few co-workers has helped alleviate any feelings of isolation. I've also met a few old friends of my late grandparents who have been very helpful in helping me settle in and learn the area.

Put simply, things are going about as well as one could hope for. Only one thing could make it better, and circumstances still don't look likely to make it possible.

But it's very fair to say... I'm probably gonna be okay out here.

Have a nice day, folks.

Kind of annoying to be commenting on this right after yesterday's sad announcement, but I have to ask..

Why are so many people incapable of comprehending that you can hate BOTH extreme right Neo-Nazis AND extreme left facists at the same time? (and more importantly, that no matter how much we DO hate them, that they still have the right to peacefully assemble?)

I'm glad these idiots are in reality just a loud minority or this country would be fucked.

I am afraid that it is time to bring to light some unfortunate news.

Some of you out there already know what I am about to say - closer friends to myself and  xeroprime have been aware of this for a while, but it's time for it to be made aware to others.

As you may or may not know, several years ago(before I ever joined FA) I made a huge mistake and bankrupted myself restoring an old GTO. I somehow managed to hang onto the car through the proceedings until it got wrecked by an idiot a few years back, but this matter has held a cloud over my finances ever since. This is the primary reason why I never tied the knot with my fiancee despite our being engaged for so long - my nonexistant and just now starting to recover credit would have dragged his much better credit into the shitter - it was better to stay legally unhitched until my credit recovered.

The other reason we never tied the knot is because of another potential financial concern, one which is now coming to fruition. Put simply, this town sucks, and while we make decent moeny to live around here there aren't many prospects for bigger income, so we were always conscious of the fact that one of us might need to leave to pursue something bigger, and the other might not be able to follow - if there isn't a high chance of finding a decent job it's bigger to hold onto what you've got.

But to the ultimate point, I have gotten a somewhat big deal job with a certain Detroit automaker, and must move back up to Michigan - funnily enough, I'll be just a few miles down the road from where my grandparents lived. I move on September 11th, the Monday after Labor Day, and start my new job on the 18th.

Unfortunately, while D-Boy has his own potential job opportunity down the road, it's in a completely different part of the country, and he can't risk letting go of his current job for the economy that is the Detroit area's current state.

This, unfortunately, means that we must end our engagement. It could be temporary - if his opportunity falls through and I can find something for him to apply to, there's always a chance he could move up to Michigan as well, but for the foreseeable future it must sadly end. Long distance relationships generally do not work out well.

I cannot stress enough that this is not because of personal issues - we both love each other as much as we always have, and to express this fact our fursonas -being an ideal representation of what we'd like our world to be like- WILL finally tie the knot as a symbol of our time together and still somewhat possible if increasingly unlikely future. It's just a matter of digging up enough money to commission the artwork.

"What if one or both of you finds someone else?" you may ask. Well, we've already considered that possibility; Our fursonas will obviously get a divorce. No, not really - our fursonas aren't real so who the fuck should care? I certainly wouldn't have a very long relationship with someone who'd make a stink out of it considering our romantic history.

Anyway, that's that. Don't get all depressed and sad - we're just a couple of chucklefucks from Ohio who aren't worth your tears, even if you are our friends. The world turns, life goes on, and may the Force be with you.

Wait, what? Ah, whatever. Have a nice day.

WOW the salt is strong with the SJW crowds. Needlessly so, as well.

Before I get started, full disclosure: I did not vote in this election. I considered both candidates to be utter scum not worthy of my vote, and third party candidates simply do not yet have the push to have a chance, so I make my feelings known in the best way I could - by refusing to contribute.

With that said, the panic about the results really needs to stop. The majority of the bullshit being brought up by the folks who are freaking out aren't even actual concerns for two reasons, one of which SHOULD have been made obvious over the past 8 years...

The President of the United Stated DOES NOT HAVE the kind of power people think he does.

One common freakout I've been hearing is that "Gay marriage is over!"

No. No it's not. Homosexual marriage is now a right that has been affirmed by the Supreme Court of the United States. Trump cannot issue an Executive Order banning it.

Or, to be more precise, he can issue an order, but it's not enforceable. Executive Orders must be constitutionally valid, or they can be thrown out just like any other law that is found to be unconstitutional in court.

The only thing that can kill off gay marriage is a Constitutional Amendment. And given how much of this country have voted in favor of gay marriage, passing such an Amendment would be nigh-on impossible as an Amendment requires a two-thirds vote of the people to pass, not a simple majority.

And no, the fact that America overwhelmingly voted for Trump doesn't mean they're suddenly going to reverse course on an issue such as that.

The second reason people are panicking needlessly comes down to the Congressional results - the fact that the Republicans have majority in both houses. What this particular piece of panic fails to consider is that, well, THE PARTY HATES TRUMP'S GUTS.

The one good thing about the notion of a Trump presidency is that he was guaranteed an unfriendly Congress. He's not going to be able to catch them napping - they're going to scrutinize EVERYTHING he supports.

The only real potential issue with Trump as president is if something happens that forces him out of office early. Then we have to deal with Pence as president, who IS in the party's good graces and has a lot of ideas that are worse than ANYTHING Trump wants to do.

Put simply, nothing of serious note is going to happen. Every major change to occur in this country since the end of World War II has been the result of the actions of the people, not the government, and ESPECIALLY not the president.

It's no coincidence that I've noticed MOST of the people freaking out about this have only voted in one or two previous presidential elections. I've been voting in the elections since Bush vs Gore, and when Gore lost there I though the world was going to end. Same when Kerry lost.

Then something happened... I realized the world is a lot more fucking complex than that. I grew up.

So, this is my advice to the people freaking out over this: GROW THE FUCK UP.

Your voice still has influence in this country. You still effect what happens around you. You still have power. Just because YOUR candidate fucked up and couldn't get elected doesn't change that.

The doomsday predictions were wrong both times Shrub won. They were wrong both times Obama won. Get the fuck over it and keep trying to make this country a better place. Just because your President(and whether you voted for him or not, he is still YOUR president; He represents YOUR country) does not agree with you does not mean he'll get his way.

The Earth continues to turn. Gay marriage will still be here, LGBT movements will still push forward, and racist fuckwads that will feel justified and become annoyingly belligerent over the next year or two WILL get beaten down by the majority.

And Vladimir Putin will continue to be just as bugfuck insane as he would be if Clinton had won.

Oh, BTW, Utah...? You better be DAMN GLAD Trump won by more than 6 electoral votes.

EDIT: Upon further research I notice I HAVE made one tiny error... A Constitutional Amendment does NOT require a two-thirds majority... It requires a THREE-FOURTHS majority. So yeah, chill out about that stuff!

See you in a couple weeks when you come crawling back because you..
1: Didn't get enough attention
2: Got frustrated with the other site's interface
3: Get banned because a mod doesn't like your art, regardless of the rules.

Seriously, this stuff has gotten insanely predictable. For all the problems FA has, all of the alternatives have some other problem that's just as bad. Unless your sole existing method of making money has been directly threatened/harmed by a certain occurrence, you've got no reason to make such a huge stink about it.

Just fucking relax. Back up your works and be ready to post them elsewhere should things ACTUALLY come crashing down! If you have dedicated followers, they'll find you through word-of-mouth.

Before I begin I'd like to note that while mass-hiding the comments in the issue that has brought about this posting, I accidentally hid an unrelated comment that I had not yet read. I apologize to the poster of that comment - please return to the journal and repost your comment if you wish and I will read it and respond accordingly.

Anyone bothering to check back will notice my journal regarding #WTFU has a lot of hidden comments on it. I actually expected to have to hide more than a few, but the reasons for which I have had to do so I was quite disappointed in.

I will not name the offending individual for two simple reasons: 1) They may have had good points to make, so I consider them undeserving of hatred, and 2) I am not a vindictive individual and do not wish to incite anyone to harass them.

The problem here was not the points they made nor their general attitude(at first), it was something that could have(at first) been a simple error: Dismissing things which should not be dismissed.

People make mistakes sometimes, which is why when a mistake like that is made I give the individual ONE chance to correct themselves on it. I will call it out, and await their response. One who backs up, fixes their mistake, and moves on I will assume simply overlooked what he did or accidentally implied something different from what he meant. But if you double down on your error, the discussion is effectively over.

At this point, I care not what points you have to make. I will no longer read comments attempting to defend yourself. I will accept an apology and move on, but I will not debate the issue further as I can no longer trust an individual to not ignore important details anymore. Your side of the debate could still be right, but by throwing aside important information from the opposing side you are killing your own argument regardless of it's accuracy, and I cannot in good faith debate a matter with someone I can't trust to give my side the same consideration I will give their side.

This, frankly, is an attitude more people should take. Far too many people allow others to get away with dismissal of expert information, important facts, statistics, and more in the pursuit of keeping things civil. But there quite simply MUST be a line drawn on the issue, and in my view this is where it is.

In my case, I opted to block the user after they not only repeatedly attempted to continue the debate after being clearly told it was over due to their insistence on ignoring opposing information, but when they opted to add deliberate insults to the matter. I will not abide "polite" discussion devolving into such things - it's one thing to be joking around with friends and dropping a few humorous insults that anyone with a brain can see aren't actually insulting to the person, it's quite another to insult someone else for calling you out on an error that you absolutely refused to correct.

If you want to be taken seriously in a debate, remember the following: Keep calm, keep polite, consider all information. Stop and call out the people you're discussing a matter with if they violate a rule - give them a chance to correct themselves. One who refuses to do so should never be taken seriously. One who's willing to admit their mistake and fix it should be given consideration for it.

"X doesn't matter" is only valid if you can provide a reason for it. "This expert doesn't know anything" is only valid if you're countering with the opinion of an expert of equal or greater authority. "This statistic is wrong" is only valid if you can prove such. Throwing such things out there without backing only makes you look like a fool. Trying to justify them after blowing your chance with the person you're talking to only makes you look desperate, even if you are correct.

Not wanting to discuss a matter further after someone repeatedly breaks these simple guidelines does not make one narrow-minded. It only means you don't wish to discuss the matter with someone who has already proven they don't intend to listen to opposing viewpoints.

Even if an opposing viewpoint is WRONG, you cannot effectively argue such without first considering the point. Even if that consideration is solely to find the proof that refutes it.

A reminder: The user was not blocked for breaking these simple should-be-common-sense guidelines - that merely elicited the hiding of their comments so as not to encourage other problems stemming from it. They were blocked because of their refusal to let it go, and resorting to insults.

You have become the second or third movement(can't clearly recall) to get Youtube to pay lip service to your cause. You've still affected nothing; Youtube's statement was issued to shut you up. Nothing will change, because nothing CAN be changed.

I post this with the full knowledge that there will be SOME whiners out there who will not think things through before commenting. They will bitch and moan about how wrong I am because they don't want to face reality. They will shout down instead of debate, and continue to insist on focusing on the wrong problem. Some of them will have actually read what I have to say, most will have skipped it once they realize the angle I've taken.

So I am warning everyone in advance: I WILL BE HIDING ANY COMMENT THAT DOES NOT SEEK TO PROPERLY DEBATE THIS ISSUE. Insults, refusal to consider points brought up, etc. will be hidden on sight. Strong language is acceptable(I am never opposed to usage of swearing for added emphasis, after all), but outright insults are not.

Likewise, I will be hiding any comments that are nothing more than a "hell yeah" or anything along those lines. If you don't have anything to add to the discussion, just spread the information contained here. I'm not posting this to my watchers can stroke my ego. I will disable comments if either one becomes too much of an issue.

Questions about what I've said are okay, as well - I'm sure I won't be as clear as I'm going for in every area, so if you want something cleared up, just ask.

Anyway, on to the point.


Last week, Doug Walker, as the Nostalgia Critic, posted a video on Youtube lambasting the service and Hollywood for their lack of consideration to Fair Use - a protection from copyright infringement afforded to certain uses of copyrighted materials including parody, review, and satire.

In this video he also takes Youtube to task over how easy their takedown system is to abuse - something every Youtuber has been well aware of for over five years(way to be late to the party, Channel Awesome).

Unfortunately, every single aspect of his video either misinterprets the law, fails to understand the situation, or is just outright fucking WRONG.

Let's deal with outright wrong first.

1: SATIRE IS NOT FAIR USE. To Doug's credit, everything he lists(parody, review, education, satire) IS fair use with this sole exception. Satire has never been considered fair use because proper satire does not USE copyrighted material - it merely references it with various forms of blatancy.

Let's move on to misinterpreting the law.

2: FAIR USE IS NOT A RIGHT. Doug is not the first, nor will he be the last, to make this mistake, and it's an easy one to make since a smart copyright holder will consider the implications of fair sue protection before acting on a copyright. But the reality is that Fair Use is not a right - it is a courtroom defense against accusations of copyright infringement. It's only consideration outside of the courtroom is whether or not the creator of content using the copyrighted material would be likely to win if the copyright holder took them to court.

And lastly, and most significantly, failure to understand the situation.

3: NOSTALGIA CRITIC VIDEOS ARE NOT FAIR USE. The Nostalgia Critic -and the majority of Channel Awesome's videos- claim Fair Use by way of both parody and review. Unfortuantely, they fail at both; Parody requires a transformative effort on the work, and many a court case has found CA's style of parody does not qualify. They do not qualify as reviews either as the videos are not simple plot summaries paired with a personal opinion and/or analysis of the work's merits/failures. They are COMPLETE PLOT SUMMARIES with attempts at jokes - abridged riffing. They fall under the category of MST3K and Rifftrax, NOT Siskel and Ebert. MST3K had to acquire the rights to do what they did with the movies for a reason, and it's the same reason Rifftrax only provides the AUDIO TRACK they recorded instead of the movie. Like it or not, Nostalgia Critic videos ARE copyright infringement. Channel Awesome is run by a person who knows absolutely nothing about copyright laws. He has no legal counsel on hand, and he has utterly dismissed attempts by copyright experts to help him in the past. CA does what CA wants to do, and has been proven to outright lie in an effort to get what they want - even when telling the truth would have been more beneficial(IE, the Indegogo campaign).

4: COPYRIGHT HOLDERS MUST ENFORCE THEIR COPYRIGHT OR LOSE IT. This is the most bullshit aspect of the entire matter, to be sure - if there is ANY uncertainty over Fair Use protection, the holder of a copyright is legally obligated to invoke their right as the holder of that copyright. If they do not, they can lose the copyright. As ridiculous as it is, the copyright holder HAS to be abusive if they want to keep it.

5: YOUTUBE CANNOT DO ANYTHING. As many are aware, Youtube exists under a DMCA provision widely known as "safe harbor." Put simply, this means that as long as they cooperate in matters of dealing with copyright infringement, they are protected from any prosecution -criminal or civil- resulting from infringing activity on their site. This is why their takedown system as broken and prone to abuse as it is - the moment they implement a system that is IMPOSSIBLE to abuse, they are no longer under safe harbor because such a system WILL at some point end up saving a copyright infringer, and the copyright holders will IMMEDIATELY file suit. Youtube would be gone.

6: IT IS NOT YOUTUBE'S JOB TO DO ANYTHING. Youtube's job is not to protect it's userbase, it's to make sure a platform is available so a userbase CAN exist. It is the job of that userbase to protect their own content - it is, after all, the USER'S content, not Youtube's.

Okay, well, with that all said, let's cover the TRULY important things. How do we REALLY deal with this? Well, it's quite simple:

1: Get permission. In 99% of all cases, when asked properly, copyright holders will actually APPROVE the use of content in the manenr Nostalgia critic and similar content creators use said content. Much has been made of how bullshit "paid in exposure" is, but I did not address that because many companies are okay with exactly that notion so long as you seek approval FIRST. Copyright holders have the authority to grant ANY use of their copyright, even if it would otherwise be infringing.

2: Stop attacking Youtube. They are beholden to the laws of the land, nothing more, nothing less. They will change when the LAW changes, because that's the only way they CAN change.

3: Attack the claimants. As I said, it is up to the user to protect their own content. This means that when someone files a false claim, address the claimant, not Youtube.

4: When someone files a false claim, SUE THEM. Put your money where your mouth is. This is the only way change will ever be effected. The people who file these claims do NOT want to go to court - they will almost always settle out of court if you have ANYTHING resembling a fair use defense. They do not want it to go to a decision unless there is absolutely no conceivable defense. Under the DMCA, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO DEFEND YOURSELF. Invoke it. Don't stop if they withdraw the claim - continue to push the issue. Make them afraid to file a claim without performing all due diligence.

5: Lobby Congress to change the copyright laws. Nothing major is going to change under the DMCA. While it may be better than shit like SOPA, that's only because it has legal recourse. The DMCA is a horribly flawed law, but as long as it is the law we smut abide by it. The only way to change things is to change the law. Pressure Congress en masse to fix copyright law.

There's your reality check. You want to make a difference? Don't follow the advice of Channel Awesome. They're fraudsters, copyright infringers, and misogynists(just ask Obscurus Lupa). Following the advice of Channel Awesome is to run into a brick wall. Their #WTFU hashtag will never go anywhere simply because it's based in bullshit. The Nostalgia Critic video is about they WANT, not what things ARE.

Fight a REAL fight, not Channel Awesome's load of crap.

Why? Because the first book was better than 99% of the shit published these days: https://www.kickstarter.com/project.....e-club-book-ii

All April Fool's jokes will be punished by way of engine block to the face, regardless of success levels. April Fool's is a stupid holiday that does not deserve to be celebrated. It is frankly disgusting that the citizens of the internet embrace so strongly.

So please, if you're someone who likes playing April Fool's jokes....Get the fuck out of my face. I've cut off contact with people for a LOT less than some of this shit pulled on April Fool's.

So many journals recently about people leaving FA, yet unwilling to elaborate on why. I'm not familiar with the details, but what little I've gathered sounds to me like an overreaction to minor issues.

Anyhow, I'm not going anywhere, though I wonder how much longer it will be before dramawhores run this site barren. Every year something happens, dramawhores make a big stink out of it, and several people leave. And every single time, it ends up being an overreaction and no problems ever come of it.

The site staff isn't what's eventually going to kill this place - it'll be whiny bitches who think every little change is the end of the world.

Please don't be a douchebag towards the humbugger in your family;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqmVaoz8uok

First off, fuck you Texas. It is not your right to dictate that shit, particularly when your own constituents are telling you not to. Good luck keeping your jobs - you're going to need a god damn miracle to do it, now.

Florida has once again proven they're fucking morons. Sure, the evidence against George Zimmerman wasn't as strong as the Casey Anthony case, but the trespassing ALONE should have been sufficient to put this fucktard away for Manslaughter.

Stand Your Ground = "You know all those rights you have for protecting yourself from trespassers? We're giving them to the trespasser. Because fuck you."

Just about anywhere else in America, Zimmerman would be going to jail. Don't try to tell me that the south doesn't allow racism after this. You guys done fucked up.

My fiancee said it best: We need to swap either the population or government of Florida and Texas. Make it so we only have ONE state to bitch about.

Why would one favorite EVERY SINGLE IMAGE in one's gallery....And not bother to Watch that person?

After numerous delays for various reasons, Gold Digger Ultiamte has finally begun. Read the prologue on my fiance's DA page: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/10968862/

Early critic screenings are generating a positive respond to this film. Thank God - I've been realy looking forward to this and I was deathly afraid that a lot of idiot critics would take that film school "story is more important than anything else" bullshit too far to heart. The positive reaction means that critics are either treating this film the way films should be treated, or the story is a TON better than expected.

Either way, it's looking good. BRING IT ON!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1YQOIginV0

...For the brutal slaying of the XBox One.

If Valve fucks up the Steambox, Sony wins this console generation. Even if Valve does the Steambox right, Sony still has a chance.

So I had to leave a small note for my future mother-in-law(as she was already asleep) before I went to bed. Since a portion of the note was particular importance, I highlighted it in every way possible: Italics, boldface, large font size, and a font that stands out. WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT COMIC SANS IS FOR.

Comic Sans exists for a reason and I'll use it when appropriate.

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/a.....tarctic?c=home

They need more money than they set for their goal, so keep the contributions coming if you can!

Is he being interrogated yet? No? THEN IT DOESN'T FUCKING MATTER. The Miranda rights are, under normal circumstances, not read until the beginning of an interrogation.

NOW STOP BEING FUCKING MORONS ABOUT THIS AND JUST BE GLAD HE'S BEEN CAUGHT YOU FUCKING RETARDS!!!!

Guess I should have expected this type of stupidity after yesterday's BS, though... Too many people believe everything they see in the movies.

EDIT: For the record, folks, my future mother-in-law works at the county prosecutor's office. Do NOT try to claim I don't know what I am talking about. I will own your ass on this topic. It takes me literally ten seconds to double-check my facts with a reliable source.

EDIT2: If you don't trust my personal source, look here - http://usgovinfo.about.com/cs/miran...../mirandaqa.htm Now can we stop being assholes?

...The Boston bombing suspect have been identified as CHECHNYAN, not Czech! Theyre are from CHECHNYA, NOT the Czech Republic.

Chechnya. AKA the Chechen Republic, is a former Soviet state, and one of the ones that are currently, shall we say, less than stable.

The Czech Republic is a small European country that borders Germany and Poland. It is generally very sable and peaceful.

Stop being dumbasses and get your information right!

See Xero's journal for further information: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/4314774/