Since The Whole Thing With NaNoWriMo Has Gone Down, I've Noticed That One Of Their Former Sponsors, Ellipsus,

Since the whole thing with NaNoWriMo has gone down, I've noticed that one of their former sponsors, Ellipsus, has cut contact with NaNoWriMo because they do not support their stance on AI; I didn't know what Ellipsus was, but upon further research I've found that they are a writing platform that works a lot like Google Docs and Microsoft Word, only with a heavier leaning on the story-writing aspect and connecting with other writers - and they also completely denounce any use of AI, both in the writing process itself and in the use of their platform. I really appreciate that.

Since this is the case (and since I've noticed Google has begun implementing more AI into their software), I've decided to give Ellipsus a try to see if it's a good alternative to Google Docs (my main writing platform). It's completely free and so far, I've found it simple to use (although it is pretty minimal in its features), and I really like the look of it.

I figured I'd spread the word about this platform in case any of you writers would want to give it a try, and if you do, let me know how you like it!

will never get over wilson lovingly calling house greg

why does every character have to sigh like it’s their only emotion???

often wish i could go back in time and be one of those newspaper columnists from a small town whose column is like "jane's jaunty japes" and the reception is basically a mild "huh, that's funny" and yet is employed for fifty years.

While I agree the Internet Archive was breaking copyright and the recent findings were warranted, I also am confused by the amount of people who think this is a new low and not something they've been doing consistently since their conception in 1996. It just seems like now they took the step of wronging a company litigious enough to do something about it.

Like there is a grey area on whether or not the Wayback Machine is infringing on copyright (it is in Europe), but there's a TON of movies preserved there that technically shouldn't be. Old ones, yeah, but newer ones too still well within the rights of being scrubbed. Most seem to think that's fine.

But there are libraries! This hurts libraries! I mean I agree to a point. I support libraries and the work they do and I hate the sort of downwards spiral that field of service is going down. I don't think IA is fully in the right and I do think they made a mistake here stealing works from modern, more individual artists as opposed to teams and studios - which is something people seem to care less about for some reason.

At the same time, I also know you need an ID and proof of residence to get a library card in both states I've lived in. You also need an adult if you're a young enough minor. You also need to be able to GET to a library on a consistent basis.

I also know a lot of kids who have their access to physical books way more monitored than what they might be able to find online. My surrogate kid told me they were afraid to read the queer book they got from the library outside of their room because their parents might ask questions about the rainbow on the cover.

I also also know access to many books varies greatly outside of different countries. Some places don't have easy access to Amazon or used book stores or libraries, so if they want to read like the type of classic lit work that I can find easily for like a few bucks, they might be out of luck.

Once again, I don't think they should've won this case. They fucked up, I see that. But this isn't really a big win for writers in my eyes when, from my experience, it doesn't really keep someone from buying a book or getting it at the library. I offer a free e-book of my first book to anyone who wants it, and some people choose to buy it or request it at the library because they want a physical copy. It doesn't seem like a lot of people's first choice for literature is a website PDF of dubious quality. It just kind of seems like there are times where that's the most accessible.

okay, but in all seriousness, is elrond being too hard on galadriel? the answer is yes. but he is also much younger than her and i think a lot of us can relate to that feeling of being in our early-to-mid-20s and feeling like "right is here, and wrong is there, and why can't these older people see it." sometimes that kind of clarity is needed. this is why generational friction exists, is natural, is necessary to the movements of society. elrond standing up to galadriel and gil-galad after spending s1 mostly in service to them is refreshing because he's finding his voice, he's owning the fact that he is not content to be a herald writing and delivering speeches for others. he cares and he wants to make a difference and speaking out against the rings has been the catalyst for that. at this point in the story elrond is already so many of the things he goes on to be in the third age. he is loyal. he is perceptive. he is wise. but he also lacks experience. he has never been tempted away from the light - probably ever, certainly not by the great deceiver. so it's easy for him to look at galadriel's folly and say "you should have known better. the darkness corrupted you and you let it happen, in part because you wanted it to happen." which technically is a true statement, but the way it feels to galadriel is much different and much more complex, and it's different to us as well because we've been with her every step of the way. we were also seduced by sauron - we were also deceived. but elrond wasn't there. he knows that sauron manipulated his friend; he doesn't know how deeply that manipulation affected her and affects her still, in no small part because galadriel contains a lot of her grief in order to fulfill her roles of commander and self-appointed bulwark against sauron.

we see her in eps1 and 2 desperately trying to make elrond understand her, but elrond doesn't want to hear it. he is frustrated at not being listened to, disappointed in gil-galad and galadriel's willingness to engage with the rings (which, to him, is equivalent to engaging with sauron, for all that he had no hand in their forging), and i would posit that he is also afraid. for middle-earth. for his friends. for himself. because his clarity of vision is being challenged, the right way is becoming obscured, and the stakes have never been higher.

in time, he will learn how easy it is to fall prey to the darkness and - like miv said in an interview - it will make him kinder. the elrond we know in the third age is devoted to healing, unburdening, and the practice of an extraordinary compassion. but those qualities aren't built-in to anyone, not even the first children of iúvatar, not even elrond. they are hard-won - through mistakes made, failures to act as one should. it's natural that he would hurt people along the way - and he has! see durin in s1! what we do know about elrond in the second age is that he tries his best to do good: to act rightly, to keep his word, to seek counsel when he is unsure of the way, to serve all middle-earth and not just elven-kind, to be true to his friends, honor his family... and he isn't afraid to admit when he's been wrong.

if these first eps are any indication, elrond's arc is going to keep carving him into the elf he later becomes and his relationship with galadriel, after these growing pains, is going to come out even stronger, with the mutual trust and near-telepathic understanding we're used to seeing from them in third age media, and i for one can't wait.