alias_sqbr

So I made a newsletter!

2025-03-23T03:19:17Z

A while ago I was inspired by Liz Barr of Escapist Routes to make a newsletter, since that seemed like a possibly effective way to deal with the increasing fracturing of my social media circle. And then I got really self conscious about posting to or mentioning it. BUT NOW HERE I AM.

The newsletter: Sqbr's Miscellany
( Read more... )

comments

(Not) Using the Dreamwidth Beta Features

2023-11-26T02:15:39Z

muccamukk has posted about using css to undo the upcoming changes to Dreamwidth layouts, which got me to actually test the new layouts while they're in beta.

Personally my reaction is "Huh, that's different, but I'll get used to it", but it is pretty different. I can see why some people are having trouble, and I'm glad I'm testing it now before it becomes unavoidable site-wide. You can tweak your settings on the beta settings page. I haven't tried out any of the css fixes.

(Ooh ok the new tag dropdown is nice though)

comments

An archive of my own: square_bromides

2023-06-17T21:35:56Z

So what with everything happening at the AO3 (see synonymous) I thought it would be good to create dreamwidth crossposts of my AO3 works. And thus: square_bromides

Currently I've just posted my work with the oldest posting date, the cracky Stargate fancomic Mafdet Slayer of Serpents, which I'm still pretty happy with 14 years later. I don't have any set schedule in mind but will probably post in fits and bursts.

I have 216 works at sqbr, some of which are Very Long, so I don't know if I'll get around to archiving all of them, but the only way to start is by beginning!

The name is silly ('bromide' is an old fashioned word for a boring story) but there aren't a lot of relevant words starting with 'br', and once I saw the diagram of bromide crystals I couldn't not use it. Purple AND square!

comments

A way to do spoiler cuts in comments and inside dreamwidth cuts

2022-10-15T07:03:24Z

The code:
<details>
<summary>Spoiler warning</summary>
Spoiler details go here!
</details>

(Hooray for pauraque reminding me how to do <)

Example above the cut

Hello! I was hiding!

Styling the cursor (have not tried yet)

( And another one under the cut... )

comments

Square Meals!

2022-10-05T09:27:19Z

I made a cooking sideblog, square_meals. I only have one recipe on it so far and we'll see if I actually use it, it's mostly for my own organisation and you're welcome to subscribe or not as suits you.

comments

Is there anyone reading my locked posts via livejournal?

2022-09-03T10:43:12Z

My access filters are a mess of dead accounts so I was thinking of at least removing all the livejournal accounts, now that crossposting isn't happening any more, but if anyone's still using them to access dreamwidth via openid I'll hold off. So, let me know or lose your access!

Also, what would happen to the posts on an access filter if I just deleted that filter? Is there some way to make all the posts on a filter private first? It's annoying when I go to choose a filter and the list is cluttered up by like...the filter I made to process my feelings about a breakup with a mutual ten years ago etc, and it's all such old news I just want to sweep it all into private posts and be done with it.

EDIT: Tested it with a new filter, and yep, deleting a filter seems to make everything private. Sweet.

comments

friending-memes

2022-05-03T13:27:19Z

For anyone in need of new people to follow, friending_memes has posts with friending memes etc.

comments

Dreamwidth Friending Meme at jjhunter's journal

2022-01-10T04:48:02Z

Dreamwidth Circle Meme

A good way to meet new people to follow and be followed by.

comments

Some advice on using dreamwidth

2022-01-05T12:37:36Z

There's been recent rumblings on tumblr about people wanting to move to dreamwidth, which I think would be great!

Two nice guides to dreamwidth aimed at tumblr folk which cover most important things:

Here's a guide to how this all works on a cultural level

Disjointed Dreamwidth Tips (written by someone who wasn’t on LJ)

Some extra things:
( Read more... )

comments

Concrit community for fanworks and original works

2021-04-15T04:13:17Z

concrit_x

I thought about joining for about five seconds and then my anxiety went NOPE. But it seems relevant to people's interests and at least somewhat active.

comments

Another icon meme post

2021-02-11T03:46:39Z

wychwood asked this time!
( Read more... )

comments

Image descriptions and alt text on this blog

2020-12-12T07:13:14Z

Reading this guide to alt text made me aware quite how much longer some of mine are than the recommended length. Their advice for long descriptions is to either include it in the surrounding text or link to a longer description elsewhere. Dreamwidth does have space for a longer description in their image code, but as far as I can tell the only person who can see it is me, which isn't helpful.

So my two questions are (a) Does anyone actually see my alt text and (b) For those who do, what their preferences are. I'll keep doing alt text even if noone chooses it on the poll, you never know when someone might wander past and find it useful, but it's good to know.

View Poll: Image descriptions and alt text on this blog

( Read more... )

comments

How to reply when I have nothing interesting to say

2020-12-10T14:12:07Z

Sometimes when I make a post I get a lot of nice but similar comments I really appreciate, but I have nothing interesting to say to in response beyond, like, "thanks". Thinking about a unique variation on "thanks" for each comment is a lot of mental work for little benefit, but a wall of identical replies, or no replies, might make people assume I didn't like their comment. Especially since sometimes I do happen to have something interesting to say to one or two comments in particular, but not all of them, which could make everyone else feel weird.

Or maybe people won't notice or care!

So! Help me find replying to comments less mentally tiring.

View Poll: #24977

Please don't feel obliged to say you don't mind when what you mean is "It would make me feel a little bad, but I'd prefer that to you getting stressed". I just want to know what people prefer out of these two options so I can make an informed decision.

If other, please explain in the comments!

comments

No frills friending meme

2020-11-29T00:46:38Z

At snickfic's journal

I've been too tired to poke it very much but there's a bunch of interesting looking people.

comments

Wiscon is done!!

2020-05-26T08:12:35Z

It ended very sharply since they made the discord read-only at local midnight (my lunch time, a few hours ago) I've joined a few related discords, though, and had a bunch of new people follow me who I am slowly checking out one by one (if I do this too quickly I just go UGH TOO HARD and never subscribe to anyone).

Anyway, the con was a lot of fun! *waves to everyone I saw there, and also anyone I didn't* I have one more panel to write up and then I'll do a panels post, but in the meantime here's some links I had opened in tabs and stuff.
( Read more... )

comments

Thinking about how and why I write reviews

2020-04-21T01:36:51Z

Something I've been thinking about for a while is the assumptions people have about the motivations and purpose behind reading and writing reviews and analysis, especially the sort of amateur, social justice-tinged posts I make myself.

Specifically, as it relates to reviews and reactions on this blog: what is my goal here? And how much stuff I assume goes without saying isn't clear?

So here's a rough approximation of my goals, in vague order of importance:

Let people who haven't consumed the thing figure out if they might like it
Articulate and explore my own feelings about the work and how it fits into broader patterns, and express myself creatively
Be entertaining
Help others understand my POV and figure out their own feelings, even if we don't agree
Give other people with similar feelings to me a chance to feel seen
Have interesting conversations, both about the specific thing and broader topics
Promote stuff I think is worthy or that my readers might like
Encourage an environment where people can think and talk about this sort of thing without being made to feel bad or weird

( Read more... )

comments

Anyone else having problems with IFFT/tumblr?

2020-04-17T02:35:43Z

I use an IFFT script to crosspost from dreamwidth to tumblr. Recently a couple of my dreamwidth crossposts have not shown up on tumblr. The posts crossposted to livejournal, and show up in my dreamwidth's rss feed, so I don't think it's a dreamwidth issue. They were very run of the mill posts, and spaced out between posts that crossposted fine.

So it's probably IFFT or tumblr. Has anyone else been having crossposts etc vanish?

comments

Dreamwidth Friending Meme

2019-12-21T12:10:18Z

At st_aurafina's blog.

comments

So I made an otome dreamwidth community

2019-06-26T15:31:12Z

Since dreamwidth support STILL hasn't gotten back to me about the mod of the previous community vanishing, I decided it was easier to just make a new community. So I did!

And thus: otome_games !

I'm going to try and post semi-regularly, and thankfully someone with actual design skills volunteered to help out with the layout and as another mod. *waves to chrry*

The community are pretty chill, so hopefully moderating should be chill too.

Also, total side note, but I'm trying out a new dreamwidth feature that lets you link to other dreamwidth accounts by just typing a @ and then their username. It looks ok in the preview, sweet.

comments

Taking an axe to my gendered icons

2019-04-09T07:11:09Z

Finally got around to deleting/editing all my gendered icons. I kept telling myself I could just not use them, or not think of them as implying I'm a woman, but it bugged me.

This one used to say "expressing my femininity with an axe". And I still have femininity! That I might like to express with axes! But this version makes me happier. Especially since it's in a more readable font now.

That's me, by the way, many years before I realised I'm non binary, dressed as the bearded dwarf Cheery Littlebottom from Discworld, not that I'm very recognisable under all that hair :) This was at Swancon, and Elizabeth Moon admired and briefly wore the helmet, which I'd painted with pretty pink flowers.

comments

Age Poll Results

2019-03-31T12:39:49Z

I was curious to see how the ages of my followers varied over various social media. As expected, dreamwidth skews slightly older. But it was also interesting to see how the responses varied in other ways.

Ages:

( More details )

comments

Age poll repost

2019-03-24T03:55:20Z

Age poll!

I wasn't planning on reposting this, but looking at the results it was SEVENTY PERCENT people who just follow me on dreamwidth, and I was curious to know if that's a fair representation of the proportion of my readers who engage with my posts, or if reposting would catch a bunch of folk on faster paced sites like tumblr and twitter who missed it the first time.

So if you already did the poll, you're set! And there's even odds you were born in the 1980s ;)

View Poll: #21654

comments

Age poll!

2019-03-18T03:09:03Z

A poll on age for those who follow me on social media

I did it on google docs because I'm curious to compare, say, tumblr to dreamwidth. I was going to do a location question but it got long and complex and I'm not in the mood for jokes about being Australian right now, so. Maybe another time!

(Apologies to those who are going to see this multiple times)

comments

How to deal with dreamwidth support not getting back to me

2019-03-09T08:37:36Z

I contacted them three weeks ago about being made mod of a community I'm in whose sole mod has deleted her account and vanished, and haven't gotten any response asides from an automated message saying it will be "answered as soon as possible".

Does anyone know: Should I just keep waiting, or is it better to contact them again? Is there some more reliable method than using the support request form? It's what they say to do.

comments

Thank you for all the lovely comments on my post about the anniversary!

2019-03-09T05:06:26Z

For some reason I like getting those sorts of comments but find them hard to reply to, so am giving myself not-replying amnesty, but they were all much appreciated (as will be any future ones)

comments