Where LB Goes For Fun On The Internet

[lb_lee]

"LB, you're not on social media, and you live like some weird austere godless monk. Do you even have fun on the Internet???"

Oh, don't worry, friends. We have fun on the Internet:

• Archive.org (for old music, old multi stuff, old website research, weird niche research... what DON'T I use Archive.org for? Seriously probably the website we spend the most time on)
• Archive of Our Own (for prose fiction and porn--most known for fanfic, but its tag system is so good that we sometimes trawl the original fic archive for stuff)
• the Anarchist Library (what it sounds like)
• Bandcamp (for new music--I have YET to figure out how the fuck iTunes works)
• LotusPrince's Let's Plays (this is the only Youtuber I really watch anymore, been watching him for over ten years, he is a softspoken, straightfaced completionist who tries to be positive about every game he plays, no matter how clunky or goofy, and he is still my favorite parasocial companion for when I am so brainblasted I really can't handle anything more complicated than "go to the right, fight boss.")

We use an RSS reader to stay on top of blogs and artist accounts scattered across the ether, but if it can't be RSSed, then we don't bother. Lotus Prince is the only exception; he's a self-limiting, Gatorade activity, something I only want when I'm badly depleted, and once I recharge, I'm off to the races again, digging around in 1998 soulbonding websites on Archive.org.

I only play one game now, hack103 (and we use our local offline copy. Our shoulder only allows it on occasion, but fortunately, Hack is from 1985 and pre-poopsocking, so it's a very easy game to put down for years at a time and pick up again.

Comments

[wispfox]

... What does poopsocking mean?

[lb_lee]

It describes an activity so riveting that you’d rather poop in a sock than go to the bathroom.

[wispfox]

Aaaah! Ok, thank you. :)

[ainmhidh]

I just set up an RSS reader today! I'm hoping to stay off of social media and YouTube a bit more (or, well, at least be more intentional about when I do use it).
Perhaps this is a sign that I should trawl Archive.org and AO3...

[lb_lee]

I truly think having an RSS reader did a lot to improve how I interacted with the Internet. It keeps things all in a row for me, for when I am ready and interested, and I can sort things however! No ads, no tracking, only what I want and nothing I don’t.

Archive.org takes some getting used to, but I love it.

[beepbird]

RSS my beloved! It's what got me to break from most fast social medias- it's nice to be unable to see things I didn't actively put there (lots of science feeds, some stationary blogs that are less "trying to sell stuff", blogs, some humor...) and generally avoid the temptation to doomscroll by not having the temptation there in the first place.

Any favorite feeds?

Favorite archive.org collections? (There's a neat one that catalogues old malware that's been de-fanged so all you get is the neat visuals they came with. And I like browsing trans zine collections and various music collections.)

[lb_lee]

I mean, it only updates like once a year but I still love Darkseid Chilling On A Couch! (And what better kind of thing to have on an RSS than something that barely ever updates?)

I don't have a favorite collection, but my favorite archive.org contributor is cartamonir, who puts up the weirdest random old kink and porn stuff, with the most entertaining (yet accurate and insightful!) descriptions.

(Sorry this took so long to respond to, the past week sideswiped us and we had to think hard about what to link you, hahaha.)

[beepbird]

That kind of thing really is perfect for RSS! That's such a specific blog idea. I love it. Reminds me of Wild Bread (has RSS!) and Curious Cones (doesn't seem to yet- I should message them about it and see if they'll add a feed). And McMansion Hell (definitely has a feed).

[lb_lee]

Rogan: I saw someone make the compelling case that Darkseid on the couch is actually not just funny, but also a disturbing look at how evil works in the world: https://screenrant.com/darkseid-sitting-couch-joke-true-meaning-orion-comics/

I agree, but I also still find it funny. (Especially compared to characters like Endeavor from My Hero Academia, who spends at least a season or two NEVER SITTING DOWN. (It was something that I noticed and found increasingly funny and joked that it was due to crippling hemorrhoids.) He's just always standing there like a girder! (And I say this as someone who infamously had trouble sitting down around people for years as a teenager.)

Mori used to read McMansion Hell back in 2014. Glad it's still around, though CritiqueMyDickPic will be forever lamented.

[beepbird]

Huh, I'll have to give that a read. Usually interesting to see some mundane or funny thing as a serious metaphor that works. Haven't seen My Hero Academia yet but if I ever do, I'll keep my eyes peeled for that.

Did you ever read Cake Wrecks?

[lb_lee]

We know about Cake Wrecks! And Endeavor, the man who never sits down, isn’t a huge part of the show, he’s middling secondary, but once you notice something like that, you cannot unnotice it. Same thing when the male lead is way taller than everyone else and the film crew constantly has him casually lean on things and such so as not to break the frame!