The rage of Funko('s IP trolling bot)
Over the weekend, itch.io (an indie games marketplace, and also one of the sites where I host my books) was taken offline by its domain registrar in response to a complaint by an automated piece of "brand protection software" deployed by toy company Funko.
(I initially assumed this complaint was filed against IMMORTAL Pop!bat, but now that the site is back up it appears IMMORTAL Pop!bat is still available, so probably not.)
itch.io claims they took down the offending page immediately. But in addition to Funko's complaint being completely automated, so was the response from registrar iwantmyname; no human being at iwantmyname read itch.io's email informing them the page had been taken down, and their system automatically disabled the domain instead.
The site was back up and running within a day, which I'm sure was a relief to all the developers and creators who depend on itch.io to make a living. But this whole mess highlights how many of the companies that make up the backbone of the modern internet simply do not employ human beings to handle things like this anymore. The complaint was automated, the response was automated, and the resolution process was most likely also automated — and through it all, real people's livelihoods hung in the balance.
New Flash Fiction: "Anytime You Like"
At first, the idea hadn't been much more than a bit of stupid drunken wordplay. Jay's eager reaction made the prospect very real, and one that Sebastian found himself obsessing over in the following weeks.
I've got to be honest with you, folks: this is just 1400 words of Sebastian Moran getting pegged. You can read it for free on Ko-fi or Medium (but if you happen to be one of my parents, maybe don't).
This Week's Links
On Facebook, UnitedHealth Group locked comments on its post mourning the death of its “dear friend and colleague,” but it couldn’t block people from reacting with emojis, which more than 73,000 have so far with the crying-laughing face (compared to around 2,400 doing a sad face). Laugh-reacting became a meme of its own on Facebook, with a lot of the more than 6,800 shared posts including people telling friends to go hit the laugh emoji.
Dozens of people in Canada have scurvy, and it's because of food
Food insecurity across the provinces rose to 22.9 per cent in 2023, an increase from 18.4 per cent the year before, according to data from Statistics Canada. Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Saskatchewan saw the highest rates of food insecurity between 28 and 29 per cent. Black and Indigenous populations were the most affected.
Tesla Cybertruck Immediately Dies in Canadian Winter
lol. lmao.
-K
