Has anyone else noticed that the comment box on submission pages now has a "Help with Tags & Codes formatting" link right above it?

I LOVE that.

Now if they just need to add that to the Create/Update Journal page.

I'll be there, probably hanging around  darkwulf and  athelind.

Remember, you can't spell "echolocate" without "chocolate."

Is there any way to delete a shout from one's own userpage? There's a comment on mine that I find both clueless and rude, and I'd rather not see it every time I check my own profile. Blocking the offending party does not appear to have any effect.

This one is merely obnoxious, but if there's no way to clear shouts away, I can see them easily becoming a vector for some seriously abusive behavior.

Update:

 darkwulf came through with the right link.

I am embarrassed.

Earlier this week, I won a YCH auction.

I accidentally deleted the comment notification, and closed the tab. The artist asked me to contact a third party via Discord or Telegram to arrange payment.

I have forgotten who the artist is, and I can't find the YCH in my Favorites listing.

I am HOPING that the person in question will check my page after they don't hear from me, and see this journal.

PLEASE CONTACT ME.

I have never skipped out on an auction before, and do not intend to start now.

Thank you.

... Nothing but blue skies, can I see ...

Never quite managed an account on the Bird Site, but I'm on BlueSky now: https://bsky.app/profile/valachko.bsky.social

See you there!

In regard to the recent policy update limiting artists to one reminder post a day (https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/10321622),  fender wrote:

We’ve found that users aren’t interacting with reminder submissions. They’re not getting views, so they aren’t doing the artists posting them any good, either! Most users ignore them, and they become a cloud of noise that doesn’t do anyone any good.

It's not just that excessive reminders don't do any good -- they actually produce negative engagement.

I've dropped more than one artist because of reminder post spam, particularly if I'm getting spammed by an image that pushes one of my squick buttons even in a thumbnail.

Once-a-day reminders still give us multiple opportunities to engage in something we might have missed the first time around, without overwhelming us.

After ranting at length to  Darkwulf about the "Disney Vault" mentality that still plagues the Disney+ streaming service (which should have been "the keys to the Vault"), I compared and contrasted it to Time Warner and HBO Max.

In particular, I asserted that HBO Max had "the complete run" of both Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts from the '30s through the '60s.

And then I started searching for our particular favorites.

Pigs is Pigs (1937) - Yes.
Holiday for Drumsticks (1949) - NO.. (Streaming on Boomerang, which I don't get.)
Cheese Chasers (1951) - Yes.
Chow Hound (1951) - NO. (Not streaming anywhere. Possibly due to offensive caricatures.)

(Yes, there's a theme here. It should not surprise anyone who actually watches my account.)

I have uninstalled Firestorm, and I am taking a break from Second Life.

My day job certainly drains a lot of my creative energy, but SL has been stealing most of what's left over. I Putter Around on SL when I don't feel like doing anything else, even if I don't really feel like puttering around on SL.

It allows me to pretend I'm being creative without actually creating anything of note. There are plenty of people who use SL as a genuine creative outlet -- avatar designers and more -- but I am not in their number. My talents lie elsewhere.

I don't know how long I'll be gone. It might be a week, it might be a year. I doubt I've actually quit entirely. I make no promise that you will suddenly see, say, the first new chapter of His Official Capacity in eight years.

It all depends on how my brain reacts to suddenly having Extra Time.

Some of you may have noticed that the "Favorite Artist" listed in my profile is "Merlin Tuttle."

This is sort of a joke, but not a joke: Merlin Tuttle is an ecologist who specializes in bat research. Not only has he done amazing things around the world to encourage bat conservation and preserve bat populations -- that bat colony that lives under that famous bridge in Austin? He convinced the city not to exterminate them -- but he also takes the most amazing bat photographs you will find. Portraits, really.

Ze Frank of True Facts -- yes, "the honey badger guy" -- just did a video about Dr. Tuttle that is both informative and really damned funny.

He also provides links to Merlin Tuttle’s Bat Conservation web site.

I love bats. That's why my fursona is a bat. Bats are vital to a healthy ecosystem; among other things, a healthy bat colony can consume up to 15 tons of insects every night.

And I can't do that all by myself. ^/\^

I like it.

I am old, and I appreciate Fonts Larger Than Six Points, a richer, more nuanced color scheme, and more clearly labeled menu items and buttons.

About a week ago, the hard drive on my computer crashed and crashed hard.

My computer is currently running on its (very small) solid-state drive. It's functional, but I have no storage capacity. Attempts to get a new hard drive to work have been unsuccessful, although I am going to be trying a few more things this weekend.

The old hard drive is unresponsive; plugging it into a USB dock just gave clicking noises.

The big problem?

Every piece of art I have ever commissioned is on that drive.

The last time I uploaded art here was in 2014, and I have gotten a LOT of art in the last five years.

Unfortunately, I haven't been any better about back-ups than I have about uploads.

I will probably be poking a LOT of artists in the near future to see if they still have copies of the art I've gotten from them.

This should be a lesson to us all.

~Val

(I have been getting technical advice from  darkwulf, so things are good there.)

I'll be there early this year -- Wednesday through Monday!

Otherwise, everything from 2016 still applies.

If you pay attention to my favorites, you'll find that charming comic with the dragon, the sheep, and the pies that  thatBIGdragonstory is doing.

Well, TBDS is having a YCH Raffle with some really cute poses: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/28620311/

Check it out, and sign up!

~V ^/\^

I've got ... um ... almost four years of commissions that I haven't posted to my account, and two four-day weekends coming up for the holidays.

If I can get over this cold, you may start seeing some of those.

And New Year's Resolution: I am going to sit down with  darkwulf and  sheema and get at least one chapter of His Official Capacity out this year.

I'll be there!

I may even slip out of my usual incognito lurking.

Otherwise, everything from last year still applies.

Oddly, I am more jet-lagged after a con less than ten miles away a than I was after MFF in Chicago, because two time zones east, I can"stay up late" without actually staying up late.

Days staying:
Thursday to Monday!

Staying at:
I'm just hanging from the rafters of the big hotel.

How are you traveling?
I'm just going to ... wing it. ^/\^

Who are you rooming with?
All your bats are belong to us.

Who will you be with?
If I'm not hanging around with  darkwulf or  athelind, they'll probably know where to find me.

Where will you be? How is the best way to find you?
I will be lurking, possibly incognito!

What do you look like?
My hair color isn't too far from my fur color.

Can I talk to you?
If you can find me!

Can I hug and/or snuggle you?
Not without permission!

Are you nice?
I may be a little too smug to qualify.

Are you cliquey?
I am so cliquey that you may not know you've seen me!
I've maintained a secret identity for years. Maybe this will be the year I let it go!

Are you fursuiting?
Nothing more elaborate than a kigurumi.

Which suit(s) will you be bringing?
See above!

If I see you, how should I get your attention?
If I don't respond to a "SKREEEEE!", pastries and gourmet delicacies often work.

Dealers den?
Only as a customer.

Are you attending any panels?
Is there a bat panel this year?

Can I buy you drinks?
If you can find me!

Do you attend parties?
See "Cliquey", above. I prefer smaller groups, but that doesn't mean I'm averse to hanging out with new people.

Can I take your picture?
HISSSSS get your soul-stealing demon box away from meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
(Seriously, please don't.)

What's your goal(s) for the con this year?
Lamb Stew at Five Roses Pub. Mmm, li'l baby sheeps.

YES!

I will be at MFF this year!

If I'm not hanging around  darkwulf and  athelind, one of them will probably know where to find me.

I listen to the radio in the car, because I'm old and so is my car.

Recently, they've been playing an ad that starts off:

"Got a big belly? You may not be fat! You might just be bloated!"

Needless to say, my reaction is "Woo! Win/win!"

Long time followers might remember a dream I related about playing "Chopstick Hero", a video game where one ate real food with chopstick-style controllers, and got scored by how much you could gobble down and how quickly.

When I heard about Project Nourishment, a way to experience exotic cuisine through virtual reality, I couldn't help but remember that dream.

Forget nibbling virtual sushi in virtual Kyoto. I want a VR version of Pigs is Pigs!

It has come to my attention that the F-List user "Lombardi" has been using several of my commissions of Valachko on his F-List site to represent his character.

I would like to state for the record that I am NOT "Lombardi", and he is NOT authorized to use the art that I have commissioned.

I am posting this primarily to confirm my identity to the moderators of F-List, and will be updating it with the ticket number for the complaint as soon as they provide one.