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Code deploy happening shortly
Aug. 31st, 2025 07:37 pm![[staff profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user_staff.png){kind=small}
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dw_maintenancePer the dw_news post regarding the MS/TN blocks, we are doing a small code push shortly in order to get the code live. As per usual, please let us know if you see anything wonky.
There is some code cleanup we've been doing that is going out with this push but I don't think there is any new/reworked functionality, so it should be pretty invisible if all goes well.
Mississippi site block, plus a small restriction on Tennessee new accounts
Aug. 31st, 2025 12:28 pmdenise posting in dw_newsA reminder to everyone that starting tomorrow, we are being forced to block access to any IP address that geolocates to the state of Mississippi for legal reasons while we and Netchoice continue fighting the law in court. People whose IP addresses geolocate to Mississippi will only be able to access a page that explains the issue and lets them know that we'll be back to offer them service as soon as the legal risk to us is less existential.
The block page will include the apology but I'll repeat it here: we don't do geolocation ourselves, so we're limited to the geolocation ability of our network provider. Our anti-spam geolocation blocks have shown us that their geolocation database has a number of mistakes in it. If one of your friends who doesn't live in Mississippi gets the block message, there is nothing we can do on our end to adjust the block, because we don't control it. The only way to fix a mistaken block is to change your IP address to one that doesn't register as being in Mississippi, either by disconnecting your internet connection and reconnecting it (if you don't have a static IP address) or using a VPN.
In related news, the judge in our challenge to Tennessee's social media age verification, parental consent, and parental surveillance law (which we are also part of the fight against!) ruled last month that we had not met the threshold for a temporary injunction preventing the state from enforcing the law while the court case proceeds.
The Tennesee law is less onerous than the Mississippi law and the fines for violating it are slightly less ruinous (slightly), but it's still a risk to us. While the fight goes on, we've decided to prevent any new account signups from anyone under 18 in Tennessee to protect ourselves against risk. We do not need to block access from the whole state: this only applies to new account creation.
Because we don't do any geolocation on our users and our network provider's geolocation services only apply to blocking access to the site entirely, the way we're implementing this is a new mandatory question on the account creation form asking if you live in Tennessee. If you do, you'll be unable to register an account if you're under 18, not just the under 13 restriction mandated by COPPA. Like the restrictions on the state of Mississippi, we absolutely hate having to do this, we're sorry, and we hope we'll be able to undo it as soon as possible.
Finally, I'd like to thank every one of you who's commented with a message of support for this fight or who's bought paid time to help keep us running. The fact we're entirely user-supported and you all genuinely understand why this fight is so important for everyone is a huge part of why we can continue to do this work. I've also sent a lot of your comments to the lawyers who are fighting the actual battles in court, and they find your wholehearted support just as encouraging and motivating as I do. Thank you all once again for being the best users any social media site could ever hope for. You make me proud and even more determined to yell at state attorneys general on your behalf.
Book Log: Rick Astley - Never
Aug. 31st, 2025 07:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
scaramoucheI was in the city over the (last) weekend, which meant that although I have an on-going resolution to not buy any books until I've cleared my still-unread book stack, this was an exception. A big exception! But an exception all the same because I rarely go into the city, so I got a whole bag of books that I will rotate in reading with the still-unread book stack, and one day, maybe, I will clear all of them.
Rick Astley's recent autobiography Never was not on my to-read list, but I picked it up on a whim, and as soon as I got home, apparently it was the one I was most excited about starting, so I did. I think because I'd recently enjoyed his cover of Chappell Roan's "Pink Pony Club", plus Dave Grohl mentioned him in his autobiography when I read it (and had to dig it up to reread his version of the same meeting that Astley mentions in his book).
So like, comparing to the handful of other musician autobiographies I've read (specifically: Dave Grohl, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner and Phil Collins), Astley's is very different in the sense that he really is Just Some Dude. He loves music and loves making music, but he isn't POSSESSED by the urge to make&perform music the way that's very clear for those other musicians I've mentioned, and since he got swept up in the commercial music-making machine when he was young (not very young, but young enough), he didn't get to cut his teeth performing on the circuit and figure out his own strengths. All musicians may be limited by commercial interests, but it seems to me that a consequence of that, plus the lack of a mentor, Astley didn't get much of a voice of his own that first time round as he exploded as a pop star, which gave a specific kind of hit to his confidence and perception of self (which isn't imposter syndrome, but something else). Boy was convinced most of the "genuine" musicians around him hated and/or wanted nothing to do with him, despite being proven wrong again and again.
By Astley's own admission he feels that he doesn't "deserve" to write an autobiog because he doesn't have that much music out, but that's just not true, man. His experiences are fascinating because it really is a case of luck coming in to revive his career (he had juuuuust the amount of psychological understanding of the Rickroll to, uh, roll with it, which took off after he dipped his toes back into the industry), and although he can't go back to the heights of the 80s, his second go-round has been firmly on his own terms and been so much more freeing for him to express himself, through writing and producing his own music, performing as a drummer again in his punk band, and embracing nostalgia performances. Which is neat! And reading about that is also neat.
Though also reading about the 80s pop machine from someone who lived it is also super neat and actually terrifying, which is the meat of the book. He's really lucky in that he got out of it relatively unscathed (which he's well-aware of) and that glimpse into how easy it is for a sheltered person to be dumped into a world you don't understand and be taken advantage of because you just don't know any better and don't even know you can say no to things -- it's a tale as old as time, but still good to read the someone's actual lived experience in a specific place and time period.
While reading the book, I listened to some of his newer tracks, and I quite like some of 'em! Most of them recorded at home and with him performing all the instruments, even.
Rick Astley's recent autobiography Never was not on my to-read list, but I picked it up on a whim, and as soon as I got home, apparently it was the one I was most excited about starting, so I did. I think because I'd recently enjoyed his cover of Chappell Roan's "Pink Pony Club", plus Dave Grohl mentioned him in his autobiography when I read it (and had to dig it up to reread his version of the same meeting that Astley mentions in his book).
So like, comparing to the handful of other musician autobiographies I've read (specifically: Dave Grohl, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner and Phil Collins), Astley's is very different in the sense that he really is Just Some Dude. He loves music and loves making music, but he isn't POSSESSED by the urge to make&perform music the way that's very clear for those other musicians I've mentioned, and since he got swept up in the commercial music-making machine when he was young (not very young, but young enough), he didn't get to cut his teeth performing on the circuit and figure out his own strengths. All musicians may be limited by commercial interests, but it seems to me that a consequence of that, plus the lack of a mentor, Astley didn't get much of a voice of his own that first time round as he exploded as a pop star, which gave a specific kind of hit to his confidence and perception of self (which isn't imposter syndrome, but something else). Boy was convinced most of the "genuine" musicians around him hated and/or wanted nothing to do with him, despite being proven wrong again and again.
By Astley's own admission he feels that he doesn't "deserve" to write an autobiog because he doesn't have that much music out, but that's just not true, man. His experiences are fascinating because it really is a case of luck coming in to revive his career (he had juuuuust the amount of psychological understanding of the Rickroll to, uh, roll with it, which took off after he dipped his toes back into the industry), and although he can't go back to the heights of the 80s, his second go-round has been firmly on his own terms and been so much more freeing for him to express himself, through writing and producing his own music, performing as a drummer again in his punk band, and embracing nostalgia performances. Which is neat! And reading about that is also neat.
Though also reading about the 80s pop machine from someone who lived it is also super neat and actually terrifying, which is the meat of the book. He's really lucky in that he got out of it relatively unscathed (which he's well-aware of) and that glimpse into how easy it is for a sheltered person to be dumped into a world you don't understand and be taken advantage of because you just don't know any better and don't even know you can say no to things -- it's a tale as old as time, but still good to read the someone's actual lived experience in a specific place and time period.
While reading the book, I listened to some of his newer tracks, and I quite like some of 'em! Most of them recorded at home and with him performing all the instruments, even.
Book Log: Apocalypse: A History of the End of Time
Aug. 27th, 2025 11:15 amscaramoucheAnother weathered book from the back of the unread books drawer, and not very thick, so it's a light read I finished pretty much over a weekend I was away from home. John Michael Greer's Apocalypse: A History of the End of Time follows the history of what he describes as "the apocalypse meme" (the book was published in 2012), as in the infectious idea of the apocalypse, which Greer argues originated proper by Zarathustra, by adding the idea of "An End" to the understanding of the the cyclical nature of the seasons, years, and cosmic movements.
Very fun read, as Greer goes all the way from Zoroastrianism to the 2012 Mayan calendar scare (that really was everywhere for a hot minute), covering various famous and some less-famous (to me) apocalyptic movements in history, including Millerism, Heaven's Gate, Y2K, Kurzweil's Singularity (is that tied to the current AI movement? I should look it up). Though because Greer gave good early depth to apocalyptic concepts as developed by post-Babylon exile Judaism and later New Kingdom Christianity, I thought he would do the same for Islam and other Eastern beliefs but uhhhhh no, the book is Western-centric, I don't know why I keep playing myself.
But still a good, brisk read, and I do like that he explores exactly (though not too deeply) what it is about the apocalyptic meme that attracts people so, with the promise of justice in an unfair world, and being able to let all of your problems go to the promise that it will all be resolved by someone who is not me/you/us. And with that note he ends quite critical of that, by arguing that we need to help each other and protect each other, which is difficult work but necessary every day.
Very fun read, as Greer goes all the way from Zoroastrianism to the 2012 Mayan calendar scare (that really was everywhere for a hot minute), covering various famous and some less-famous (to me) apocalyptic movements in history, including Millerism, Heaven's Gate, Y2K, Kurzweil's Singularity (is that tied to the current AI movement? I should look it up). Though because Greer gave good early depth to apocalyptic concepts as developed by post-Babylon exile Judaism and later New Kingdom Christianity, I thought he would do the same for Islam and other Eastern beliefs but uhhhhh no, the book is Western-centric, I don't know why I keep playing myself.
But still a good, brisk read, and I do like that he explores exactly (though not too deeply) what it is about the apocalyptic meme that attracts people so, with the promise of justice in an unfair world, and being able to let all of your problems go to the promise that it will all be resolved by someone who is not me/you/us. And with that note he ends quite critical of that, by arguing that we need to help each other and protect each other, which is difficult work but necessary every day.
Mississippi legal challenge: beginning 1 September, we will need to geoblock Mississippi IPs
Aug. 26th, 2025 12:24 amdenise posting in dw_newsI'll start with the tl;dr summary to make sure everyone sees it and then explain further: As of September 1, we will temporarily be forced to block access to Dreamwidth from all IP addresses that geolocate to Mississippi for legal reasons. This block will need to continue until we either win the legal case entirely, or the district court issues another injunction preventing Mississippi from enforcing their social media age verification and parental consent law against us.
Mississippi residents, we are so, so sorry. We really don't want to do this, but the legal fight we and Netchoice have been fighting for you had a temporary setback last week. We genuinely and honestly believe that we're going to win it in the end, but the Fifth Circuit appellate court said that the district judge was wrong to issue the preliminary injunction back in June that would have maintained the status quo and prevented the state from enforcing the law requiring any social media website (which is very broadly defined, and which we definitely qualify as) to deanonymize and age-verify all users and obtain parental permission from the parent of anyone under 18 who wants to open an account.
Netchoice took that appellate ruling up to the Supreme Court, who declined to overrule the Fifth Circuit with no explanation -- except for Justice Kavanaugh agreeing that we are likely to win the fight in the end, but saying that it's no big deal to let the state enforce the law in the meantime.
Needless to say, it's a big deal to let the state enforce the law in the meantime. The Mississippi law is a breathtaking state overreach: it forces us to verify the identity and age of every person who accesses Dreamwidth from the state of Mississippi and determine who's under the age of 18 by collecting identity documents, to save that highly personal and sensitive information, and then to obtain a permission slip from those users' parents to allow them to finish creating an account. It also forces us to change our moderation policies and stop anyone under 18 from accessing a wide variety of legal and beneficial speech because the state of Mississippi doesn't like it -- which, given the way Dreamwidth works, would mean blocking people from talking about those things at all. (And if you think you know exactly what kind of content the state of Mississippi doesn't like, you're absolutely right.)
Needless to say, we don't want to do that, either. Even if we wanted to, though, we can't: the resources it would take for us to build the systems that would let us do it are well beyond our capacity. You can read the sworn declaration I provided to the court for some examples of how unworkable these requirements are in practice. (That isn't even everything! The lawyers gave me a page limit!)
Unfortunately, the penalties for failing to comply with the Mississippi law are incredibly steep: fines of $10,000 per user from Mississippi who we don't have identity documents verifying age for, per incident -- which means every time someone from Mississippi loaded Dreamwidth, we'd potentially owe Mississippi $10,000. Even a single $10,000 fine would be rough for us, but the per-user, per-incident nature of the actual fine structure is an existential threat. And because we're part of the organization suing Mississippi over it, and were explicitly named in the now-overturned preliminary injunction, we think the risk of the state deciding to engage in retaliatory prosecution while the full legal challenge continues to work its way through the courts is a lot higher than we're comfortable with. Mississippi has been itching to issue those fines for a while, and while normally we wouldn't worry much because we're a small and obscure site, the fact that we've been yelling at them in court about the law being unconstitutional means the chance of them lumping us in with the big social media giants and trying to fine us is just too high for us to want to risk it. (The excellent lawyers we've been working with are Netchoice's lawyers, not ours!)
All of this means we've made the extremely painful decision that our only possible option for the time being is to block Mississippi IP addresses from accessing Dreamwidth, until we win the case. (And I repeat: I am absolutely incredibly confident we'll win the case. And apparently Justice Kavanaugh agrees!) I repeat: I am so, so sorry. This is the last thing we wanted to do, and I've been fighting my ass off for the last three years to prevent it. But, as everyone who follows the legal system knows, the Fifth Circuit is gonna do what it's gonna do, whether or not what they want to do has any relationship to the actual law.
We don't collect geolocation information ourselves, and we have no idea which of our users are residents of Mississippi. (We also don't want to know that, unless you choose to tell us.) Because of that, and because access to highly accurate geolocation databases is extremely expensive, our only option is to use our network provider's geolocation-based blocking to prevent connections from IP addresses they identify as being from Mississippi from even reaching Dreamwidth in the first place. I have no idea how accurate their geolocation is, and it's possible that some people not in Mississippi might also be affected by this block. (The inaccuracy of geolocation is only, like, the 27th most important reason on the list of "why this law is practically impossible for any site to comply with, much less a tiny site like us".)
If your IP address is identified as coming from Mississippi, beginning on September 1, you'll see a shorter, simpler version of this message and be unable to proceed to the site itself. If you would otherwise be affected, but you have a VPN or proxy service that masks your IP address and changes where your connection appears to come from, you won't get the block message, and you can keep using Dreamwidth the way you usually would.
On a completely unrelated note while I have you all here, have I mentioned lately that I really like ProtonVPN's service, privacy practices, and pricing? They also have a free tier available that, although limited to one device, has no ads or data caps and doesn't log your activity, unlike most of the free VPN services out there. VPNs are an excellent privacy and security tool that every user of the internet should be familiar with! We aren't affiliated with Proton and we don't get any kickbacks if you sign up with them, but I'm a satisfied customer and I wanted to take this chance to let you know that.
Again, we're so incredibly sorry to have to make this announcement, and I personally promise you that I will continue to fight this law, and all of the others like it that various states are passing, with every inch of the New Jersey-bred stubborn fightiness you've come to know and love over the last 16 years. The instant we think it's less legally risky for us to allow connections from Mississippi IP addresses, we'll undo the block and let you know.
Book Log: The Pope's Daughter
Aug. 22nd, 2025 10:18 amscaramoucheCaroline P. Murphy's The Pope's Daughter is another book I got ages ago, probably at a warehouse sale? I can no longer remember but the pages are weathered with time, which is a shame because I would've read it earlier if it wasn't stuck at the back of the drawer of unread books, under books I've been procrastinating over even more. The book is not about Lucrezia Borgia! It's about a lesser-known Pope's daughter (so is my impression of her relative fame), Felice della Rovere, illegitimate daughter of Cardinal Guliano della Rovere, later Pope Julius II, aka The Warrior Pope.
Murphy's book is well-paced and put together, though she uses conjecture quite a lot on Felice's motivations and emotional state behind some of her actions, and though Felice does on paper come off as consistent in action and intelligence, I'm not as much convinced by the declaration that she was definitely ambitious and arrogant to that level. But what makes Felice interesting, I think, is the contrast she makes to her peer Lucrezia (whose father was pope before Julius II), where when I read about Lucrezia (and Caterina Sforza) that makes Italy feel so vicious and violent and decadent, which it was, but then there's Felice who navigated that same world and didn't get into any scandals, and the major dramas of her life were (1) her youthful resistance to remarrying after her first husband died, though she did capitulate eventually for a husband she worked well with, and (2) her stepson protesting her power over the family to his detriment, which aren't really scandals per se.
Felice was good at politicking, networking, running businesses, running multiple estates, all with keeping a close relationship with Vatican both before and her father was in power. Felice patronized Michelangelo, lived through the Holy Roman Empire's sack of Rome, and saw multiple changes in the Vatican through her own ability to form relationships. She may not have had a passionate (second) marriage, but it was a functional one that worked. She was powerful, but also professional and well-behaved within the constraints of that power and her gender, which doesn't make for a popular historical figure to write about. It gives nuance to what it was like for powerful, intelligent women to live in that era and location, with her crossing paths with Lucrezia, Isabella d'Este and briefly a young Catherine Medici who was warded to her. And I think that's neat.
Murphy's book is well-paced and put together, though she uses conjecture quite a lot on Felice's motivations and emotional state behind some of her actions, and though Felice does on paper come off as consistent in action and intelligence, I'm not as much convinced by the declaration that she was definitely ambitious and arrogant to that level. But what makes Felice interesting, I think, is the contrast she makes to her peer Lucrezia (whose father was pope before Julius II), where when I read about Lucrezia (and Caterina Sforza) that makes Italy feel so vicious and violent and decadent, which it was, but then there's Felice who navigated that same world and didn't get into any scandals, and the major dramas of her life were (1) her youthful resistance to remarrying after her first husband died, though she did capitulate eventually for a husband she worked well with, and (2) her stepson protesting her power over the family to his detriment, which aren't really scandals per se.
Felice was good at politicking, networking, running businesses, running multiple estates, all with keeping a close relationship with Vatican both before and her father was in power. Felice patronized Michelangelo, lived through the Holy Roman Empire's sack of Rome, and saw multiple changes in the Vatican through her own ability to form relationships. She may not have had a passionate (second) marriage, but it was a functional one that worked. She was powerful, but also professional and well-behaved within the constraints of that power and her gender, which doesn't make for a popular historical figure to write about. It gives nuance to what it was like for powerful, intelligent women to live in that era and location, with her crossing paths with Lucrezia, Isabella d'Este and briefly a young Catherine Medici who was warded to her. And I think that's neat.
