Hey, just wanted to check in with this community about a problem i have been having recently.
So a few weeks ago, i was forced to switch from the Origin App to the EA app, and ever since then I have been unable to access sims 3, sims 4, and sims medieval. I have a PC, and am not the most tech savvy person. Has anyone else run into this problem, and if you did…how on earth did you fix it😭?!? EA customer service has been extremely unhelpful, and i would hate to not have access to one of my favorite games. 😭😭😭

Call text work, but no data with intl roaming credits in Germany. I think I just need to correct APN settings, but customer service won't help me. I'm done with Mint if this doesn't get resolved. False advertising.

If you've been anywhere else on Reddit, I am sure that you have seen discussions about a Reddit-wide protest, where hundreds of popular subreddits are planning to go dark beginning June 12th.
There was a great explanation on one of my other favourite subreddits, /StardewValley, so I have borrowed that to share here.

What is API and Why Does it Matter

API (Application Programming Interface) is a service that essentially allows one application to "interact" or "talk" with another application.
API Calls or API Requests include everything that a user does from making a comment/post, upvoting/downvoting a post, loading posts/subreddits, blocking users, filtering content, etc.
Why Does This Matter?
In the case of Reddit, the Reddit API allows third-party applications such as Apollo, Reddit is Fun, Reddit for Blind, Luna for Reddit, etc to "interact" with Reddit communities. These applications make API Calls to moderate communities, make Reddit accessible, or allow for a customizable Reddit experience. These third-party applications provide aid for moderators and users across Reddit as a whole. Without this API, these third-party applications would struggle to operate.

What's Changing

On May 31, 2023, Reddit announced that there will be some major changes to their API. The changes are simplified as follows:

• API Rates Increasing: Reddit's API for third-party applications will transfer from free usage to a paid model. Rates will increase to $0.24 per 1,000 API calls.
  • This seems cheap to the outside user, but consider a large-scale application like Apollo. They reported that with this new change, their application would cost $1.7 million per month or $20 million per year to maintain operation. A number that is unfeasible for the average developer.
  • As a result, developers may be unable to support their applications due to the increased rates. If developers choose to increase their prices to compensate for this change, it's highly possible that their user base will disagree with dramatic price increases just for the developers to overcome the changes.
• Ad Blocking: In the upcoming update, Reddit will be blocking ad revenue from third-party applications.
  • Some third-party applications (like Reddit is Fun) rely on ad revenue for a majority of their revenue. By removing ads from third-party applications, they're forcing paid subscription models onto their user base.
• These changes will be implemented on July 1, 2023.
  • These changes are happening in a 30-day time span, making it incredibly difficult for applications to properly increase prices or incorporate the paid model into their application. 30 days is not a long enough time for these changes to be made.

Why the API Changes are Harmful

These changes are harmful for a multitude of reasons, and can be broken into three categories:

• Users: A majority of third-party applications make Reddit accessible for users, or allow them to customize Reddit for their own, personal experience. Applications like Reddit is Fun - an unofficial Reddit client that makes browsing through Reddit a more enjoyable experience - allow for a customizable experience. Additionally, applications like Reddit for Blind - an application designed for screen-reading users - allow Reddit to be accessible.
• Moderators: Many moderators and communities use third-party applications to help run their communities. Without these applications, large-scale communities may find it difficult to moderate content and respond to mod mail properly.
• Developers: Because of these recent changes, Reddit has made it increasingly difficult for future developers to have the opportunity and resources to make third-party applications, as well as make it impossible for many large-scale application developers to maintain their applications. There is an expanding list of applications that have already announced they will no longer be supported after June 30, including (but not limited to):
  • Apollo
  • Reddit is Fun
  • Sync
  • ReddPlanet

But What About Us?

We at /CreatethisWorld will not be going private. None of the changes are going to directly affect the operation of this subreddit, except for those of you who may be using a third-party app to access it. We don't use any external moderator tools, because we spend very little time doing the sort of traditional mod duties that occupy mods of larger subreddits for many hours a week. We do use Old Reddit, but I have heard nothing substantial about that being eliminated any time soon.
Having said all that, it's not the fact that these changes don't affect us personally that means we are not joining in the protest. Rather, it's simply the fact that our community is so small that it really isn't going to make a difference whether we join the protest or not. There are some users on here that don't really engage with any other part of Reddit, so I do want to stay open and let people continue to enjoy the shard.
If anything in this situation changes, we will let you know.
Sincerely,
The Mod Team

These cards NEVER drop in MTGO despite being Common or Uncommon. (A couple are rares).
Please upvote this as I would like to hold them accountable. I haven't seen these cards despite dozens of drafts and sealed decks and having 10-20 of every other common and uncommon. If you don't believe me, try to find and any vendor on MTGO. They don't exist. At this point I would like to do a class action lawsuit with a right to know code for shuffler and for card drops and to reimburse everyone on MTGO. I also want them to refund me this entire set and I have spent hundreds of dollars and was mislead. Obviously I have no idea how to do this but after my latest interaction with customer service who advised me to just keep trying, I'm boiling.
The Cards that never drop are:
Phyrexian Pegasus
Seedpod Caretaker
Referee Squad
Zephyr Winder
Injector Crocodile
Seer of stolen sight
Axgard Artisan
Cragsmasher Yeti
Ruins Recluse
Invasion of Fiora
Orthion, Hero of Lavabrink

In late-June 2021, I looked at this set of data for Alibaba, a company with $50B in net cash, and eye-popping growth numbers across the board in (1) the key cash flow generative division (customer management); and (2) the promise of the cloud. Please note that the e-commerce numbers are strictly customer rev mgt and *exclude* direct retail.

Period	E-Commerce Growth	Cloud Growth	Free Cash Flow
FY2019	27%	84%	15B
FY2020	20%	62%	18B
FY2021	24%	50%	26B

Back then, the big news cycle of the day was Jack Ma, Jack Ma, Jack Ma, and the antitrust fine that the CCP had levied on BABA. The bear argument was that Alibaba was in the CCP's doghouse and that this was basically going to be a shitshow for a long time.
I looked at the market cap ($620B), the net cash ($50B), and the FCF (26B) and the growth rates, and reached the judgment that in the next 3-4 years, there was a good chance those FCF numbers could easily fly past $40B, making a $620B Market cap look pretty absurd (MCap to FCF = 15)
How did I model that FCF go from $26B to $40B? Well, that's a CAGR of 15%. If their e-commerce (customer management) revenues rose by just 15% CAGR, then a FCF CAGR of 15% was achievable so long as margins held.
It seemed reasonable to assume that customer management revenue would grow at 15% CAGR for the next 3 years, given that this would represent a moderation from the previous three years CAGR was 23%. If it did hit $40B, this would easily be a $800B-900B company or a $300+ stock.
I bought the stock around $230.
Then this happened...

Period	E-Commerce Growth	Cloud Growth	Free Cash Flow
FY2021	3%	23%	15B
FY2022	-8%	4%	25B

What the fuck?
What fact in the public domain did I miss about Chinese society, Chinese business, etc., which could have helped me anticipate that a company whose "customer management revenues" were CAGR'ing 23% for the last 3 years would actually have a -2.5% CAGR over the next two?
Why would I have any reason to think that cloud, which had a 3-year CAGR of 64%, would slow down to 12% over the next two?
What in the actual fuck could I have done differently, or thought differently, or analyzed differently to anticipate these horrendous numbers in relation to the past three years?
Clearly, three things have happened:

1. The e-commerce industry has seen the rapid rise of PDD and JD. These two are taking market share away from Alibaba;
2. Chinese COVID lockdowns really threw a wrench in domestic spending. The Chinese economy is soft across the board, ranging from real estate issues to domestic growth.
3. The Western and global economies in general have slowed down dramatically with worldwide inflation (even though no inflation in China), which really fucks up the economy of the world's #1 exporter, i.e., China.

Some of these are life's ups and downs. Others are serious issues (in particular Pinduoduo, in my view).
But coming back to my main question, how the fuck do I look at a set of numbers for three years, assume a moderation, and still get fucked in the A in this way?
The CCP or Xi Jinping didn't go around telling Chinese shoppers to moderate their spending on taobao/tmall from 20%+ CAGR to -2% CAGR. What in the fuck is going on fellas?

I’ve tried a few and a lot of them turn into customer service broken records most of the time. The only one so far that’s been realistically conversational enough to suspend my disbelief has been Pi.
Are there any others?

Hello! Let's help each other and get beautiful rewards!
Please make sure to enter the code AFTER you purchase the game but BEFORE purchasing your first subscription to get the rewards.
Login to the Mog Station (https://www.mogstation.com/)
Click on "Manage Service Options"
Click on "Enter Recruitment Code"
Then enter the following code: 4E99F4YT

Today, we will enhance your understanding of how to educate children about Islam by offering ten practical teaching strategies.

10 Guidelines for Teaching Your Children About Islam

Read the article to profit from any or all of the below-mentioned suggestions.

1- Teach your children “Who is Allah?” to strengthen their faith:

The first recommendation I have for you concerning Islamic studies for children is to begin with an introduction to the Creator. Instead of providing your children with a theoretical introduction, periodically present them with a simple and intriguing truth. Similar to: Have you observed the stars at night? How gorgeous are they? Then inform them that Allah has enabled them to shine for us.
Join our online Islamic lessons for children to help your children study Islam more quickly with the assistance of certified teachers in Islamic studies.
Continue to refer to nature and instil Allah’s love and mercy in your children so that they are raised to love Allah rather than fear Him.
Avoid discussing retribution, hellfire, Allah’s Ghadab (rage), and other topics that are too complex for children to comprehend. Instead, continue to tell them how much Allah loves his creation by sharing many stories, hadiths, and Allah’s lovely names.

2- Present Islam by means of interactive games and attractive worksheets:

We all know that children adore games and anything that is colourful and aesthetically pleasing. So, the second advice for enjoying Learning Islam is to present the five pillars of Islam through games and worksheets.
Start by teaching them kalima (the oneness of Allah) and giving them a cause to think that Allah is unique.
Make salah kids-friendly. Instead of instructing them to wake up and rush for wudhu, pray, make do, etc., explain what salah is (a conversation between God and His creation). Say something like, “Hey guys, it’s time to pray to Allah.”
You can enrol your children in online tajweed programs to help them master their pronunciation so that they make no mistakes in their salah.

3-Recite Islamic tales before bedtime:

At bedtime, when it’s just you and your children, they will pay close attention to your stories. Engage them and arouse their curiosity so that they will daily request the story.
Choose prophetic accounts from the Quran. Thus, kids will readily learn about so many of the Prophets.
Instill numerous moral lessons in your children through the stories of your companions. Online Tafseer classes for kids can also help make sure that the stories are short and true.
I tell stories to kids in person, and I don’t tell them how the story ends to get them interested. The other day, I told the remainder of the story.
For storytelling sessions, children’s dispositions and interests are crucial. Do not bombard them with too much information at once. Create your own method for making the narrative concise and to the point. Or until your children are willing to listen attentively.
Remember that it is not the quantity of Islamic culture and history that you must feed their brains with, but rather the quality, for it is these young minds that will blossom in the future.

4- Act as a model first:

Another essential idea is to serve as an example for your children. Follow Islam and be the embodiment of Islam. The more you follow Islamic rules and traditions, the easier it will be to teach your kids.
Check out this: How to serve as a positive example for your children.
Do not request prayer if you are not currently praying. Do not ask someone to quit lying if you are also lying in their presence. Do not expect them to act differently from how you do because kids watch their parents and copy what they do.
Remember that children are not only a blessing, but also a responsibility for which we are accountable. How you treat and interact with them will determine how they treat and interact with the world around them. Therefore, exercise extreme caution and pay close attention to their Online Islamic classes, in which students can effortlessly learn everything about Islam from a trained Islamic studies tutor.

5- Adopt Islamic etiquette everywhere possible:

If you follow Islamic etiquette and morals everywhere you go, your children will adopt them without hesitation.
Numerous children inquire about birthday festivities and why they are not participating when their peers are. So, make an effort to celebrate what is significant in ISLAM so that people are aware of the true event. For example, rejoice when your children perform salah in the mosque, cheer when they fast, and applaud and delight while they are sipping water while seated.
In this way, you will acclimatise your children to the actual Islamic way of life without telling them it is Islamic or forbidden.
Fast and encourage your children to fast, not because it is a command, but because it brings you closer to Allah because the reward for fasting is only known to Allah.
Donate alms (sadaqah) and teach your children to avoid Raya (bragging). Motivate your children to perform sadaqah to protect them from evil. Inform them of the Prophet’s hadith concerning sadaqah. It will encourage their excessive participation in this action.
Children are already being born on Fitrah, therefore half of the task has already been completed. As parents, you must mould and shape them.

6- Teach your children about Islam via books, toys, and cartoons.

This strategy is excellent when children can independently read books. Give them engaging books on Islam and allow them to build their understanding on their own.
For infants and young children of toy-playing age, provide Islamic dolls and stuffed animals that recite Surahs rather than songs.
Numerous online cartoons, such as ZAKY and IQRA CARTOON NETWORK, can support your children’s online Islamic education. In our technological age, it is difficult for children to avoid screens, so why not have them watch something beneficial?

7- Instruct them in supplications:

There are numerous online Islamic programmes for children where teachers teach them duas from the Quran and hadith. If you want to accomplish this at home, it is quite simple.
Learn and repeat duaas pertaining to daily life aloud in front of your children, and you will notice that they have spontaneously learned them. Recite duaas prior to eating a meal, visiting the restroom, riding in a vehicle, going to bed, and on other occasions.
When your children reach the age of toddlerhood, explain to them the significance of the Duaas they are repeating to connect with Allah.
A bonus recommendation: read the morning and evening Azkar aloud. Your children will become accustomed to chanting Azkar.

8- Create a sunnah-friendly environment at home:

As previously said, children imitate what they observe. Follow the sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad SAWW and establish an environment conducive to the sunnah in order for them to learn all about Islam.
For instance, greeting salaam to everyone, eating with the right hand, caressing and embracing children, preparing the bed before going to sleep, washing dishes and even clothes, assisting others, and sharing possessions are examples of Islamic practises.
Keep in mind that this is not a game show in which you must perform all sunnah-related actions for a few days. This is a question of life and death. Adopt sunnah first, then incorporate them into your life. If you detour or detract, the children will easily follow suit!

9- Perform Islamic nasheeds rather than music:

Modern children do enjoy listening to music since their peers, neighbours, and cousins do! The second advice for teaching Islam to children is therefore to play nasheed instead of music. There are several nasheeds regarding Allah’s blessings, the lives of the Prophets, humanity, Islam, and a great deal more.
Allow them to attend Islamic lessons for children online or in your neighbourhood so they can enjoy nasheeds alongside their studies and maintain a positive disposition.

10- Celebrate Islamic events to foster affinity and affinity:

Many parents are unaware of the dates and number of wars won by Muslim heroes, the beginning of the Islamic new year, etc. If you want your children to learn Islam, you should celebrate Islamic holidays to foster in them a passion and interest for Islam.
A Muslim child requesting his parents for a Halloween costume when the holiday is just around the corner calls into question the tarbiyah and training of his parents.
If you celebrate Ramadan, Eid, Hajj, etc. with fervour, there is no reason for your child to request Western festivals!
Conclusion.
There is an urgent need to instil Islam in the children of Western parents. We are certain of the importance of Islamic education for your children. As parents, you must play a responsible role by using the aforementioned advice to teach your children about Islam.

I am writing this in hopes for some help and to guide others to not have the same fate as me. I think I have made the biggest mistake of my life. It has been 5 months since it happened and I haven't been able to fix it. This phone is the only connection to the realm of my birth. My original world. I probably cannot undo my mistake but I can guide future players.
My phone it's Android. It has an IR blaster, the only reason I bought it, and for some reason, this phone can hold its network through dimensional change. As if it's a loophole, a glitch in the broken matrix that i was facing. Not that i could actually make any use of it because I am still here.
The people here look like us. They all do. They are very sapient. They look just like us. But my bones know that they don't have the same origin as I do. They are good though. Have the same societal issues, the same intolerable governing body, protestors, and unrealistic agendas, the left wing and right wing at each other's throats. People who should touch some grass have podcasts. People who should have podcasts enjoy their lives. They are humans, just like us, but they are not us.
The rules stated by the urban legend still strike the same to this day if time and space follow the same routine, follow the floor number pattern, pay no heed to the lady that enters the elevator on the 5th floor, leave the building immediately if you return to floor 1, etc. I followed them all correctly, but the rules are no guarantee as to whether you will be safe or alive after your elevator journey is done, the rules only make sure the procedure is correct.
Hey you know what I will write down the rules in short, for your reference to my guidelines but the rules should always be memorized to your bones and spine, this is your SOS and your key. You will find the set of rules on any website. I suggest visiting multiple of them before you start your endeavor. Because each of them gives you different kinds of warnings, something the successful players learned from their own experience. And take this advice of reading through all of those points from this unsuccessful player.
One thing the rules on blog sites don't mention is the choice of which world you want to enter. Because most players enter an identical world with no electronics and no living thing around them. Only a red crossed window that's far stretched away from where ever you look and keeps on moving further away from you. My case was vaguely different.

1. So firstly all you do is enter a building with more than 10 stories.
   
2. Enter the lift via the first floor and only by pressing the "up" button
   
3. Follow a pattern of floors, press 4 then 2 then 6 then 10 then 5.
   
4. On 5 a lady shall or shall not enter your floor. Then press 1
   
5. When you press 1, you will either reach 1. or you will reach 10.
   
6. If you reach 1, get the f out of the building and don't come near it, not in 6-7 months i suggest.
   
7. If you do reach 10 congratulations. your first part of the journey is a success
   

now Something, about the lady. Do not interact with her at any cost because of course she is not a lady, no matter how pretty she looks, oh you looked at her? alas, that's also a grave mistake. don't look at her, don't talk to her. Just ignore her total existence. If you know of the elevator game you are already aware of how you should not interact with the lady and all. But one thing is often left blurry is that what you should do if she does not enter. This was my case.
So my advice here: If the lady on the 5th floor does not enter. Then just hope that you do return to the 1st floor after you press it. if you do no then, and start ascending. continuously press any and every floor button for it to stop, or maybe the emergency or call button so that the staff can stop the elevator. Because if you end up reaching the 10th floor, good chances are you get to meet me and we make a cute therapy consult group for people who can't return back. :)
I remember everything from that night so vividly. I did your usual pattern follow. I entered the lift when no one was using it. I entered 4. went up there, meh nothing happened. Then again I pressed 2. I felt a vague chill around me. As if the mechanism of the ritual was understanding my intention. I pressed 6, then after it reached 6, I pressed 2, then 10 then 5. Oh, 5. The elevator door opened. And there she was, standing with all her glory. I did not look at her. but of course, i could see her from waist to bottom. She was dressed in Russian traditional clothing. not something i was expecting from an urban legend that became popular in Korea and japan. I think her wardrobe is a good collection from all cultures. or maybe there's more like her? Who knows?
I could feel it in my spine she was looking at me. She stopped the elevator with her foot so that the doors don't close and asked, "Baby which floor are you going?"
I followed the rules, did not look at her, did not reply to her, and completely ignored her.
She said, "Not much of a speaker eh? no worries have your ride. I hope you have a better life."
I have no idea why she said that. Looking back I think she knew what was going to happen to me. She knew that I was not going to end up in the world most player venture into. "Better life," she said.
She did not enter the lift and I pressed 1. The ritual, now tainted because she did not enter, worked. I reached the 10th floor. And when the doors opened, it was like nothing changed. The building I entered was a hotel. The housekeeping staff was running around. I heard children crying. Some Karen was screaming at a worker because her coffee, which she made from their amenities tasted bland. It was very confusing for me. I think I assumed the ritual did not work. And the lady was just another lady who could have been high. I walked out of the elevator and I felt great.
"those silly online urban legends, such lies" I probably had muttered to myself.
I took the lift again, reached the ground floor, and walked out of the building. Everything was going well until my head started hurting and spinning. and i was slowly passing out. and that's the exact moment i remembered from one of the posts of an earlier player "Do not at any chance lose your consciousness. and if you do, no matter where you wake up, return to the building, re-follow the exit ritual pattern and return to your own world."
My head felt dizzy as I woke up. In my very room. I thought to myself, was it all a dream? Did I search so much about some damn urban legend that I had such a deeply engraving dream? For heaven's sake. I jerked myself up and got down from my bed. Even my clothing is same as the last evening. I didn't know what was more weird, that i was wearing the clothes from my dream or that i remember the dream so vividly that i can even recall the outfit i was wearing. Also my phone was in my pocket. This is something i just never do. No matter how sleepy i am. i keep my phone on the other end of my table, in case it might just blast if the lithium goes through a thermal runaway.
AND! That is when i noticed. My table. It was completely on the opposite side. No no, it is right beside my bed, just like every day but the bed, and the entire room, its opposite. As if it were mirroring the room i know. Also, It wasn't just a complete mirror. my room was smaller, just a bit in breadth. One wouldn't notice it even if they visit my room on a weekly basis. But it's my damn room of course i would know even if a fly moved differently. Lo and behold, that extra loss on my room, was added to my washroom. Again, one wouldn't just notice it right away.
In a nightmare-like urgency, I rushed down the stairs to call complain my mother, and that is when the realization hit me that I did, in fact, play the elevator game. My dad was there. In the kitchen. Alive and happily married. Figuratively much different from how I remember him. I stood there in shock with my mouth wide open. How could this be? I remember my father. The last time I lived with him was until I was 9. When my parents parted ways. The last time I saw him was when I was 11, when he died. Not that I cried, he was far from what a father is supposed to be. I am 25 now.
"Good morning Sweetie!" His voice sounded oddly different. I was utterly petrified by this moment. There was a quirky yet calming nature to his sound which creeped me out even more. I dashed out of the house while grabbing my backpack from the sofa. I could hear him call out my name in my concern. This is it. This is definitely it. I crossed the borders of the unknown realm. But why are people here? Isn't it supposed to be dark with no one in it? No electricity and all ? But there is everything. This is a whole other world, what went wrong?
I had to return to my world. I ran through the roads and traffic to the hotel. Hotel Sunset. As I crossed the roads I could see it all. Cars stopping at the orange light. People walking in blue. I mean they are still following basic physics by using orange, longer wavelength for stopping cars. but does Red not exist in this world? not it does, OH MY GOD, the road lines are red.
I hurried through the crowd to reach the hotel. I pulled out my phone, which was surprisingly working perfectly. Internet, gps everything. It said i reached my location. "Hotel sunset"
I looked up, it said "Hotel Moon shine". I am surprised it wasn't named "moon rise", it'd would have been the cherry on top then.
I walked in, the Interior looked the same. I waited and waited and waited for the evening to hit and the horde to lessen. I stood up and walked to the lift. I repeated the entire process.
The lift stopped at 5. Instead of the lady, someone else entered. I of course didn't look up, but they entered hurriedly, screaming my name and i had to look up, i was already freaked out at this point. It was me. I was looking at me. she, well me, or wait she? she held the lift by her foot. What's up with women in the elevator game to hold the elevator by the foot?
"what did you do!? " I - I mean she said, one that looked like me.
"what did i do?" i replied back. . Whoever this doppelganger was. sure i was petrified. but here i was.
"DID THE LADY ENTER YOUR LIFT ?" she screamed at me.
"wha?" i was trembling at her screeching was. the white portion of her eyes started to redden.
"OH MY GOD DID SHE OR NOT ENTER WHEN YOU DID THE RITUAL?" she again proclaimed.
"she didn't." i replied and slowly lost my leg strength and somewhat collapsed while sitting down.
"why? why did you complete the ritual then? did you not read before you did? you are supposed to be me, you are supposed to be smart. heck, aren't you supposed to be smarter? oh my god. is that my backpack or yours?"
I just shook my head and handed her the backpack, it was hers definitely. I never put on any anime pins on mine. Speaking of anime pins, naruto here has pink hair. Isn't that cool?
she took out her phone and said "If you want to go back home go to this tumblr account and download the app. The account is called buihotline.tumblr.com "
And she left.
Was that the me of this universe? do we have counterparts in every universe? How many universes are there? are these even universes the way our science teaches us universes?
The lift started to quake. the light started flickering and I could hear some noise. soft noises that slowly grew louder and louder until they became uncontrollable screams. my ear drums were hurting beyond control. until it all stopped and the lift door opened. I stepped outside. Yet I was still there at "Moon shine hotel".
I tried the ritual again. I ended up back here. To floor 1 and I went back "home" to my "dad" and "mom". For the next 7 days, I kept on going back to the elevator, trying the ritual continuously and failing. On my way, I noticed new and new things about their world. These people like to greet each other in a very weird way. They grab each other's throats and smile. Almost sadistic. Language is very similar, but there are a few words and phrases here and there that have changed with customs and traditions. Honey here tastes like metal. Cows don't Moo, and birds chirp, but the sounds are unfamiliar, dogs don't exist. cats are the only domestic animals here. I read similar things in some blogs, but never did I think I would get to experience them for real.
Either way. On every failed ritual, I reached floor 1 and went back home. and repeated the cycle Until the 7th day, I got so fed up, that I kept on trying multiple times. but all I did was end up on floor 1. But I saw the weirdest thing.
Well, I can fill in on what happens if you immediately don't leave the building after playing the elevator game and ending up on floor 1. You see, well better than seeing failing grades or not being able to return to your own world, ghosts. Yep pretty much. Deranged souls that roam around the building. That is exactly what you see. And once they notice your existence, god save you. If there is any.
Mine was rather sarcastic. They did infact noticed me. They all came running towards me, looked right at me, smelled me and then slowly moved away and kept on about roaming. My heart intensified so much, it felt like I just lost a marathon I almost won.
I saw a man, maybe a bit older than me, in his 20s, walk down the entrance come and sit beside me. "They won't attack someone who's like them. You are of no use to them. They used to belong here, but don't anymore. and you never did."
I looked at him with a frightening shock. I took my bag and ran back home. Only when i came back home i realized he could have had answers. But i was so terrified at the moment, the only thing I could think of was getting away from him. I needed answers. I need to enter the website the other me mentioned. I got a new phone from this world. they didn't have Google, but I tell you their search engine is much better, it has AI integrated within. The account never opened from the new phone. Tumblr did. but that account never did. Then I tried my own phone and voila! The page had nothing. A heading, a two-liner bio, and a link. Link to download the app. Tumblr happens to be one of the only few apps that do work in other dimensions. Apparently, it has something to do with the first person who jumped dimensions, not only did they jump, but they also jumped through time and made sure every world had Tumblr. It's kinda funny they could have chosen Reddit, it's much more effective.
I loaded the app. Its a 2010's forum-based app. There are discussion topics under which you make threads. You got a chat box to interact with other users. the main discussion had a guide. I searched through it and finally came to the part "how to enter and leave a mirror world" aaand its blank. well not totally. A couple of reasons saying why you should not enter it. A bullet point that said download this pdf to know how to return back to your own world. I hurriedly clicked on it and boom the file did not open. I have never been so disappointed in my life.
There are so many dimensions else than the one with red cross and mirror dimensions. it is almost like aliens exist because some "humans" look so different. some people probably might even have ended up on my world as well. I wonder how they are taking it.
Apparently, only devices of one world present in another world, or at least have been in a few can open the website and run the apk file. Only androids work across dimensions. There's a conspiracy theory that the creators of android have got something to do with the entire interdimensional rituals and breaking the laws of space and time.
Either way, hoping to get some results I posted on the site wishing for some advice on opening the file or someone just copy-pasting the rules I guess.
I received a DM saying, "Since you have successfully crossed a mirror dimension You are capable of much more than you can imagine. But you should know how to use them, you have to be responsible for every move you make"
Good lord, I am not Spider-Man. The user further said, " I do not know where you are from, but I am from dimension 17391, go to the universal map translator and put the location, "Kairo office main building, st. red 22209". It will automatically give you a few building locations of your world." But the interface is very slow. Because it's not a singular place that has a counterpart in every dimension, there is one in every 4 hours of journey. It's an arbitrary location. It will take some time. maybe days. But you will reach."
I asked the user a dozen questions, how do I find the translator map, how many universes are there, and what do I do when I reach there? Why does everyone speak English? But they never replied. But now I have something, hope. A twinge of hope.
I searched around the app and found the map feature, build within the forum. It was on the top layer, but a confused me couldn't find it right away.
Ever since I found the map It has been nothing but a dilemma. 5 months. 5 months of intense searching and nothing. The first time I entered the location and searched, it landed me at the coordinates of a graveyard. The Irony. The second time, a fish market, the third, 3-storey guest house with the most normal Karen.
I can't even venture out every day. I have a "life" here that I have to maintain. This me had a similar job. Marketing manager at a pretty good company. The pay is almost the same. A bit lower here, but hey cost of living is also lower here. Putting those two together I probably have the exact same pay. But they have more facilities. Better vacation leaves. That is exactly what i took right after i downloaded the app, to understand the world better, and the changes here and there.
Morning, I go to work. where I sort out the place I will visit. and after work, i leave. Some places were nearby, some were far. One was in the neighboring country, luckily, the passport here is strong. But none of them work. I think I have broken the "not your universe? not the place? click again" button. Sundays and Saturdays are for long-distance locations. Also every day i cannot afford to go, even though the pay is good. In my world I used to live alone with Mum visiting me now and then. She and I had a family business along with my job, so all was good. Here I don't have a place of my own. And I gotta pay the bills around the house and sometimes take care of the business as well. Things are so similar yet different. I feel likeIi live in a deja vu.
By now i have crossed out almost 75 locations within 5 months, all of them being complete failures. I have crossed out 60 universes that aren't this one. I have made multiple posts on that app, describing my condition, where i am, and which universe it might be. If i even know this universe number and input it, the map translator will work much much better. I describe my original universe in the posts expecting someone to understand me and maybe send me a picture of my mother and friends, but all i have received are words of sympathy and hopefulness.
A few more people have send me their "kairo" addresses but they all can send only one to two messages before the chatbox stops. One of them managed to message me that i have to enter my universe number in the settings for the interface to work better. I also haven't been able to find the man from the hotel on the app or at the hotel either.
what do I do? Any piece of advice?

Just a question I’m throwing out to all the Spectrum subredditors.
For the past four weeks I’ve had this issue where at around 12-1pm USA CT, my upload speed drops to .1-.9Mbps upload speed. My download speed remains ~250Mbps. I pay for 10 Up and 350 Down.
I wouldn’t care if I even got like 6 Up and 300 down, but I’m not even getting 1Mbps Upload. I’ve had 3 technicians come out, called customer service countless times.
The first time they did something on their end to my modem which fixed it for about an hour. Then the first technician came out which changed some type of splitter. Still had issues. Then another technician came out and changed out router and modem. Still had issues the next day at noon. Another technician came out changing out the router, modem, cables, and something with a splitter again. Now it’s the same slow upload speed.
But it’s weird because after these issues happen, the service is restored around 2-3 hours always after the issues begin. Which makes no sense to me. This happens for both Wi-Fi and Ethernet connection, on and off a VPN.
I wouldn’t care if my job didn’t depend on around 4Mbps upload. I work from home, and I need internet. I can’t work half the day because it stops and noon and I’m thinking about changing ISPs as I’m not getting anywhere. Any advice from people on here or thoughts?

I know there has been a couple of posts referencing the AUS market, but I don’t think I’ve seen one for the US.
I went in to a boutique yesterday in the SF Bay Area to inquire about having my SMP serviced. I overheard the employee discussing with a customer after he purchased an AT that price increases were going across the board starting July 1st and gave an approximate amount he would’ve had to paid should he waited. Although I did hear that they weren’t exactly sure the % amount.

Hello All! I'm doing some basic polling and playtesting with an option I'm about 50/50 on for my game Project Chimera: E.C.O. currently in alpha development.
Basic information:
Players take on the role of a black ops super soldier working for a PMSC (Chimera Group International). The game heavily focuses on stealth and social objective completion over combat, ie, there is no incentive for combat, it's a way to achieve an objective, but it's the worst ROI since it is potentially lethal and consumes resources much faster than other methods and doesn't offer special rewards, also there's not really "loot" per se like in a DnD game. Loot is most likely to be information that advances the plot.
The game is crunchy, while easy to learn the core game loops (there's a 1 page overview that will get any experienced RPer able to sit for their first session and 3 points of entry: pregen, table roll/select, and full custom) it's mostly that it has lots of flexibility and character options, which is great for players that want that, but it's a known limitation it will not appeal to rules light/casual gamer preferred experiences.
The game takes place in a five minutes into the future dystopian mirror alt earth with cyberpunk and sci fi elements. Characters have access to things like advanced training, gear, bionics, psionics, super powers, feats, etc. A character's starting template doesn't restrict them, it just figures out their initial boosted areas, ie if you take the bionics aspect, your character will have more bionics than a general build character, you can still access everything else, but it's more a question of where you want the thematic focus of the character to be. All characters are baseline competent in the areas of stealth, socialization, survival and gunplay/combat (you absolutely can use HTH and melee with extensive options, but as one might expect, guns are usually more effective, though those options definitely have their place).As such consider these things to be relevant to potential players, ie if you hate stealth/social, prefer rules light casual, opinions are less relevant in this case because it's not a game built for that kind of player.
The Actual Concern:
Currently I'm considering removing the concept of a critical hit in combat doing double damage automatically and there's a good amount of relevant information:

1. Players have others ways to boost damage
2. This wouldn't remove the option, it just expands the option to more options.

​
The concept works like this:
Characters have 4 meta currencies, one of them is called Essence.
This is a daily regen pool and is used for "enhanced performance" of some kind. Presently it can be used for things like a small bonus to a roll for a save, or gaining +1 standard action on a turn, remove a level of exhaustion, rally, etc., the point being it does have a level of utility. It might be also be used to fuel a special ability from a feat, augment a powepsionic, allow for a special application move, etc.
Crits occur in combat (skills can also crit) similar to PF2e in that you can gain one on a nat 20 or if you exceed the TN by 10+ (in most cases, there are other ways to finagle this but they are niche).
Essence is described in game as:
Essence represents the total abstract humanity of a character as well as their general combined physical and mental well being, focus, and general willpower. It is utilized to overcome general limitations and perform above expectations. Essence is most commonly associated with the concept of the superego.
The proposed change would be a character gains 1 essence (up to max pool, this can be spent immediately if it exceeds) on a crit, but double damage would cost 2 essence.
A typical early level character is likely to have somewhere around 10-20 essence total in the pool (could be more or less but this is an estimated average).
Some positives of this proposed change:
This provides another opportunity for essence regen for players.
This provides additional utility and tactical choice in combat (ie they might opt for double damage and spend the extra, bank it, apply a status effect instead, etc.), particularly because more damage is not always a preferred option. In many cases disabling an opponent quickly and without drawing attention is preferred over killing them, and in some cases capturing a target alive is the mission itself.
This can open up other combat applications for essence use.
Some negatives of the proposed change:
Adding a player choice here can slow down combat for indecisive players.
This puts more emphasis/reward on combat, which isn't really the intent of the game. Essence is easier to earn in game in other ways, but adding incentive in combat assumes that this is a reward for player behavior, when open combat is, by design, meant to be more of an "oops, we screwed up moment". With that said, characters are black ops super soldiers so the game is less about never being in combat and more about trying to stave off combat as much as possible and if you have to enter combat, doing so with control of the battlefield in a smart and tactical manner.
This requires additional book keeping. Not a whole lot, we already have to track essence use, but we now have to consider that it will fluctuate more often (as part of combat).
Why I'm split:
The game is built and meant to be focused on providing experiences other than combat (ie the goal is to get as far away from typical game loop of "punch monster until it drops loot" as possible), but it would be fair to say it also has extremely robust options and tactical choice for combat. To be clear, the combat is highly tactical and has more moves available in and out of combat than probably any other known game on the market, but it's also not meant to appeal specifically to "combat only players" and the system design directly reflects this.Basically my design values are in a bit of conflict here.
Obviously I'll play test this regardless, but I'm curious about:
Are there additional reasons foagainst this?
Given the premises of the game, which do you think is likely to be more fun for you specifically? For the type of gamer this game is meant to appeal to? Why?
View Poll

People don't want to admit it but recent improvements in AI have clearly killed off certain forms of online gaming. To give an example of this, I used to be an avid League of Legends player, yet I have stopped playing the game entirely for months now because at least 30% of my solo queue games were being decided by bots. Sometimes the bot throws the game, other times it players inhumanly well, clearly clicking a hundred times a second. League's developer, Riot Games, has seemingly given up on stopping the bots because there is no discussion of the situation despite it clearly costing them players.
Of course, we also don't hear much from CCP in regards to botting either. Now that chat bots are casually indistinguishable from the average human, it is impossible to separate a carefully managed bot from a human being. This is clearly having a big impact upon things like null sec wars and industry, where he who controls the bots and gets away with it controls the universe.
As bad as this is, gaming in general is doing just fine. Three of the most popular games of the past several years are: Fortnite, Minecraft and Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Maybe some people thought that building things would a weird fit for a Zelda game but it's been a smash hit. What do these games all have in common? The theme of constructing your own things and with the latter two, exploration.
This brings me to my first argument regarding how Eve Online can survive the Botpocalypse: more exploration content. I'm already mainly an exploration player as it is. I AFK mine the veldspar, then use it to buy exploration ships and to fund solo PvP content (Abyssals). AIs do not affect my gameplay at all. In fact, if I were to encounter a dangerous AI during my explorations, it would probably improve my gameplay experience, not detract from it. As such, this is clearly one of the ways forward for Eve. They need to start asking themselves how they can improve their exploration systems, which are already perhaps the best and most unique part of this game anyway.
My second suggestion is an even more modest proposal: legalize botting if the person wants to pay for a sub. Similar as with multi-boxing, you can't stop it anyway, yet if someone wants to fund the development of my game to run some bots, I say let them do it. Counter-intuitively, this might actually reduce the toxicity of botting. This is because one of the advantages of botting is that you are doing it against people who are not botting. If everyone in nullsec starts openly running bots for their industry and so-on, there is no advantage to those who are secretly running bots. Again, if this is what you want to spend your money on so that players can get more exploration content put into their game, you do you and I'll do me.
Perhaps there are nullsec players who hate this idea. All I can say to you is: I'm sorry but it's going to happen some day, no matter what we do.
My third suggestion is that custom station colors are a great idea but it needs to go further. Including a system that keep the themes of different races' ship designs in-game, at some point they need to let us start designing our own ships. Think of a hybrid between building a vehicle (or a giant robot) in Tears of the Kingdom (everything that is built has to be skinned and shaped in certain ways, so nothing really looks out of place) mashed up with the strategic cruiser mechanics and you have players building their own ships. As the number of ships in Eve only grows larger over time, it has reached a point where there are probably no major balance issues that would emerge in most contexts because there's arguably a ship for every possible niche role already, so letting players design their own ships (probably only for certain kinds of content at first, not for major battles) probably wouldn't unbalance anything. As such, maybe things like the large battleships, command ships and so-on would always be standardized for balance purposes but just as strategic cruisers are really flexible, making them even more flexible (and on down through destroyers, frigates and shuttles) would probably not change anything.
To summarize the essential message I want to get across here, the way to survive the Botpocalypse is to put things into your game that bots cannot ruin for other players. Exploration and creation are those things. Like, if someone wants to make a bot that designs ship shapes then fine, whatever. If they want to run a bot that attempts to hunt me down in a wormhole then fine, it gets a little slow in there sometimes anyway and there's like three thousand holes or something. You can't beat them but you can integrate them.

Hello All! I'm doing some basic polling and playtesting with an option I'm about 50/50 on for my game Project Chimera: E.C.O. currently in alpha development.
Basic information:
Players take on the role of a black ops super soldier working for a PMSC (Chimera Group International). The game heavily focuses on stealth and social objective completion over combat, ie, there is no incentive for combat, it's a way to achieve an objective, but it's the worst ROI since it is potentially lethal and consumes resources much faster than other methods and doesn't offer special rewards, also there's not really "loot" per se like in a DnD game. Loot is most likely to be information that advances the plot.
The game is crunchy, while easy to learn the core game loops (there's a 1 page overview that will get any experienced RPer able to sit for their first session and 3 points of entry: pregen, table roll/select, and full custom) it's mostly that it has lots of flexibility and character options, which is great for players that want that, but it's a known limitation it will not appeal to rules light/casual gamer preferred experiences.
The game takes place in a five minutes into the future dystopian mirror alt earth with cyberpunk and sci fi elements. Characters have access to things like advanced training, gear, bionics, psionics, super powers, feats, etc. A character's starting template doesn't restrict them, it just figures out their initial boosted areas, ie if you take the bionics aspect, your character will have more bionics than a general build character, you can still access everything else, but it's more a question of where you want the thematic focus of the character to be.
All characters are baseline competent in the areas of stealth, socialization, survival and gunplay/combat (you absolutely can use HTH and melee with extensive options, but as one might expect, guns are usually more effective, though those options definitely have their place).As such consider these things to be relevant to potential players, ie if you hate stealth/social, prefer rules light casual, opinions are less relevant in this case because it's not a game built for that kind of player.
The Actual Concern:
Currently I'm considering removing the concept of a critical hit in combat doing double damage automatically and there's a good amount of relevant information:

1. Players have others ways to boost damage
2. This wouldn't remove the option, it just expands the option to more options.

​
The concept works like this:
Characters have 4 meta currencies, one of them is called Essence.
This is a daily regen pool and is used for "enhanced performance" of some kind. Presently it can be used for things like a small bonus to a roll for a save, or gaining +1 standard action on a turn, remove a level of exhaustion, rally, etc., the point being it does have a level of utility. It might be also be used to fuel a special ability from a feat, augment a powepsionic, allow for a special application move, etc.Crits occur in combat (skills can also crit) similar to PF2e in that you can gain one on a nat 20 or if you exceed the TN by 10+ (in most cases, there are other ways to finagle this but they are niche).
Essence is described in game as:
Essence represents the total abstract humanity of a character as well as their general combined physical and mental well being, focus, and general willpower. It is utilized to overcome general limitations and perform above expectaions. Essence is most commonly associated with the concept of the superego.
The proposed change would be a character gains 1 essence (up to max pool, this can be spent immediately if it exceeds) on a crit, but double damage would cost 2 essence.A typical early level character is likely to have somewhere around 10-20 essence total in the pool (could be more or less but this is an estimated average).
Some positives of this proposed change:
This provides another opportunity for essence regen for players.
This provides additional utility and tactical choice in combat (ie they might opt for double damage and spend the extra, bank it, apply a status effect instead, etc.), particularly because more damage is not always a preferred option. In many cases disabling an opponent quickly and without drawing attention is preferred over killing them, and in some cases capturing a target alive is the mission itself.
This can open up other combat applications for essence use.
Some negatives of the proposed change:
Adding a player choice here can slow down combat for indecisive players.
This puts more emphasis/reward on combat, which isn't really the intent of the game. Essence is easier to earn in game in other ways, but adding incentive in combat assumes that this is a reward for player behavior, when open combat is, by design, meant to be more of an "oops, we screwed up moment". With that said, characters are black ops super soldiers so the game is less about never being in combat and more about trying to stave off combat as much as possible and if you have to enter combat, doing so with control of the battlefield in a smart and tactical manner.
This requires additional book keeping. Not a whole lot, we already have to track essence use, but we now have to consider that it will fluctuate more often (as part of combat).
Why I'm split:
The game is built and meant to be focused on providing experiences other than combat (ie the goal is to get as far away from typical game loop of "punch monster until it drops loot" as possible), but it would be fair to say it also has extremely robust options and tactical choice for combat. To be clear, the combat is highly tactical and has more moves available in and out of combat than probably any other known game on the market, but it's also not meant to appeal specifically to "combat only players" and the system design directly reflects this.
Basically my design values are in a bit of conflict here. Obviously I'll play test this regardless, but I'm curious about:
Are there additional reasons foagainst this?
Given the premises of the game, which do you think is likely to be more fun for you specifically? For the type of gamer this game is meant to appeal to? Why?

So here is some background
I'm looking to book a flight from JFK to Tokyo Haneda Airport for 2 adults and a 2 year old from Sept 18th-Sept 29th with Air Canada in basic economy. The flight departs at 10am, and arrives at 3:40PM local time in Japan, and the return flight is 5:40PM and arrives at JFK 10:06PM local time.
When I was looking at prices at my work PC yesterday via the chase travel rewards portal, I was seeing a total travel price of like ~$2900 give or take for the travel itinerary mentioned above, which is higher than booking directly, but I plan on redeeming with my CSP.
Upon checking this morning at home I saw that the price was higher, a total price of $3183 for the exact same itinerary. However, when I select flexible dates, it shows a different lowest price than what is shown when you actually select that combination of dates. Under flexible dates, it shows Sept 18-29th being $988 per person, however selecting that shows the lowest price being $1,061.
I tried deleting my cookies but that didn't work, and i tried accessing both on mobile and on a computer that was on a totally different IP/network but it was still showing me the higher price. I tried contacting customer support but they were no help.

Hi All,
I have decided to downsize and retire a few of the items from my rack. The prices below do not include shipping. I will shave off a few for local sales (Columbus, Ohio)
-- Synology DS 218+ Diskless Price: $175 Timestamp
This was my first NAS and was in use 24x7 with 2x 3TB HDDs since 2019. I retired it last month as I finally moved to unRaid. It was purchased new from Amazon and I had upgraded its memory to 8GB DDR3L. I still have the original box, charger and the 2GB DDR3L memory stick which is included with the sale.
-- Qotom Q305P Firewall device Price: $75 Timestamp
Has 2x Intel I2111 NICs, Intel Celeron 3205U, 4GB DDR3L and 32GB M.2 SSD. Sale includes the charging brick as well. I have a similar unit currently working as a pfSense firewall device and it has no issues running my gigabit internet with traffic shaping.
-- Lenovo ThinkCentre M70s SFF Price: $400 Timestamp
Has Intel Core i5-10400, 256GB NVME, 64GB DDR4 (max), power cord. I was using it as my all in one Proxmox server until I moved some of the services to docker containers on other spare thin clients and the unRaid host.
-- Custom AMD Ryzen 5 3600 ServeGaming Rig Price: $400 Timestamp 1, 2, 3
Okay this one's a shot in the dark. I just built this server (not even a week old) from spare parts but I am not sure if I will need it. Specs are: Ryzen 5 3600, Gigabyte B450 DS3H WiFi Motherboard, 32GB DDR4 3200 MHz, 1TB Solidigm PCIE 4.0 NVME, Thermaltake Versa H18 Case, Arctic Liquid Freezer II 240 AIO, Arctic P12 Case fan. I have added 4x rubber feet to the right case panel to lay it flat on my lack rack but I have the orginal standoffs which is included as part of the sale. I might end up keeping this one unless someone wants to buy it locally for a home server or a gaming rig. Pretty much all components in it are under warranty. I am currently testing Proxmox on it.