@porblematic / porblematic.tumblr.com
#root post - original posts
#sprout post - original posts and reblogs with additions
#graft post - answers to messages
#popcorn and bleach - vagueposts about online arguments I'm observing
#going through drafts - things I drafted and then forgot about
#creation - things I made
Ok since it didn't stop annoying me after i first saw it. You know that post going round thats like "i don't know why people still hit children when we know that making them wear a silly hat makes them ashamed"? It pisses me off because why are we still insisting on punishing kids? You learned hitting kids hurts them (no duh) and your first instinct is to turn to humiliation and shame instead? On god? You people won't even punish dogs and cats. If someone punished their wife you'd lose your shit
Also way to go recreating the dunce cap, which I thought we all agreed was child abuse, but I guess it was actually abandoned as a classroom staple cause it went out of fashion or something. Not because making children learn to dread wearing a humiliating hat was harming their self esteem and their relationship with figures of authority or anything. 2024 dunce cap revival for naughty children let's go
It does make me feel a little bitter that Tumblr has been suspending us with no note or possibility to appeal since early 2018, and everyone cheered, but once it's some vaguely normie big name trans bloggers, everyone is complaining about bigotry.
Bestie, look in the mirror.
I've been banned from Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram, Discord, Cohost, and several others for spreading educational materials about paraphilias, all while having a strong anti abuse stance. The mainstream trans community's response was to repeatedly erase my transness, presenting me as a cis male trans ally on some occasions and as a gender trending cis woman on others (which is kinda misogynistic by itself), and to claim I'm harmful for the trans community because I associate pure and innocent queerness with dirty and disordered sexual perversion.
And I'm supposed to feel sorry for you and alarmed about this situation now? I don't have the energy for caring about you. Y'all are gonna get screwed over and not even know where it came from, the fuck can I do about it? You never listen to me anyway.
Geological horror. You find a geode and crack it open and the crystal lining its walls is human blood that can't be genetically matched to anyone. You find a human skeleton but every one of the bones is made from rock, a rock that you know can't be whittled into those shapes. You find layers of clay and loam that sport ancient fossils at the top and the still-rotting corpses of modern animals at the bottom.
This reminds me of the blood river in Antarctica. For like a century scientists had no clue why this river looked like, acted like, and felt exactly like blood. Turns out it’s just really high in iron.
"Blood River in Antartica" yeah right there's no way a river looks like bl-
...nevermind
Blood Falls isn't just high in iron, it's the byproducts of extremophile bacteria that have been isolated under a glacier in a iron- and sulfur-rich anoxic brine for the past 5 million years.
I don't know who needs to hear this
But if you go into the comments section on AO3
And type
Then replace image url (keep the " marks) with the url of a picture
You can leave fan art in the comments of a fic
Yep! 😄
And between the img and the src you can also add
width=“99%”
to make the image fill the frame / fit into the frame nicely. (Watch out for how it looks when you do this with small images, though. Sometimes they may not look as good when enlarged to fill a space.)
Hi, is it bad to do a negative reinforcement when the animal doesn't do the desired behavior, if it is verbal? For example, is a strong verbal "no" harmful to the animal or the teaching?
Thank you for the ask!
First of all, that’s not an example of negative reinforcement, so I’ll do a quick breakdown of the types of operant conditioning :)
Positive reinforcement is a consequence that occurs during or immediately after a behaviour that increases the chances of the animal performing that behaviour again. This is ethically the best type of conditioning that should be used during training, because by adding something the animal likes and will work for, you give it control through choice, because it does not have to participate if it doesn’t want to. Example: giving treats, attention, affection, to a dog for sitting; giving toys, stickers, or praise to a child for doing their chores; saying thank you to someone for doing any nice thing (this is, coincidentally, why I say thank you in response to every question I get here!)
Negative reinforcement is also a consequence that occurs during or immediately after a behaviour that increases the chances of the animal performing that behaviour again. (Basically, any type of reinforcement aims to increase the likelihood of a certain behaviour occurring again). The difference is that, instead of giving or adding something the animal will work for, you are removing something it will work to avoid. This still gives the animal some choice, but animals trained with negative reinforcement will usually only operate at the level necessary to avoid the negative reinforcement stimulus. Example: the annoying noise your car makes until you put your seatbelt on (putting it on is reinforced by taking the annoying noise away); yelling at an animal to go to a certain spot.
Positive punishment is a consequence that occurs after a behaviour, and is intended to decrease the frequency or intensity of that behaviour by adding/giving something undesirable or perceived as harmful. Classic example is hitting an animal because you want it to stop barking, biting, etc.
Negative punishment also has the purpose of decreasing the chance of a certain behaviour being performed, but by taking something away from the animal that it enjoys/needs. This includes things like starving an animal for doing something “bad”, or taking away video game privileges from a child for being rude, etc.
Your example (a strong “NO”) sort of blurs the lines between negative reinforcement, if you think it’s going to make the animal more likely to do the behaviour you want (which it absolutely will not), and positive punishment, if you’re trying to eliminate other behaviours that you don’t want. No professional/contemporary/ethical animal training company/facility uses punishment for the following reasons:
In short, unless the animal you’re training happens to be another human, non-human primate, parrot, or any species that explicitly understand human language, a strong verbal “NO” is essentially useless, because it will simply not understand you. Aside from that, there might be no harm to the animal as long as you’re not yelling at it and causing fear and stress, but there is harm to the training process by slowing it down and not making any progress at all. Punishment and negative reinforcement may seem like the easiest way to get what you want from an animal, and it is what humans usually turn to first, but positive reinforcement is the most beneficial to both the animal and trainer. It is also the more efficient way, if you’re willing to put in the small amount of time and effort at first to learn to be empathetic and try to imagine how the animal perceives you and what you’re asking from it.
This post is outdated (I can’t believe I wrote it four years ago now) and I’ll be the first to admit that some of the things I said are wrong and that I’ve learned a lot since then and changed the way I think about and use the different types of operant conditioning. The one I really want to talk about today is what’s called the “constructional approach” to animal training/behaviour modification, which I came across while renewing my Avian Fear Free Veterinary Certification (course created by world-renowned animal trainer Barbara Heidenreich)!
Yes, positive reinforcement is a great tool and what we’d ideally like to use in most training scenarios. However, it’s contingent on the animal’s willingness to accept reinforcers (treats, toys, attention/affection, etc) from their trainer, and the reality is that this just isn’t always possible. This is usually the case for animals who are “over threshold” (i.e. experiencing very high levels or fear, anxiety, and/or stress). For example, a parrot in a new, stressful environment such as a vet clinic may be too stressed to accept treats or scritches even from its owner, and similarly, a fearful-aggressive dog with a history of being abused probably won’t be keen on being approached with snacks and pats right off the bat. This is where careful application of negative reinforcement can actually be used quite effectively. As a refresher, negative reinforcement involves the removal of an aversive or undesired stimulus in order to increase the likelihood of a certain behaviour being performed. Let’s break down the components of negative reinforcement in the case of an animal who’s over threshold:
The behaviour that we’d like to see more of/that’s being reinforced is calm, relaxed behaviour.
The aversive stimulus is the presence of the trainer/whoever wants to get close to the animal – this is what’s causing fear/anxiety/stress.
So, we can use distance from the trainer as the negative reinforcer for calm behaviour!
Example that I’ve done in real life: There was a hawk at the raptor center I used to work at who was a new arrival and showed fearful-aggressive behaviour in response to being approached by people he wasn’t familiar with. He would get into a defensive position and crouch, holding his wings out and puffing up his feathers to make himself look bigger and poised to attack. What we wanted to see from him was calm behaviour – feathers in a relaxed position while standing normally or just doing his own thing. Rather than invading his personal space while he was already being defensive to toss food and treats his way in the hopes that he would eventually form a positive association with us and relax, we made the process a lot faster and less stressful by using distance from us as a negative reinforcer. We would observe him to make sure that each session started off with us being far enough away for him to remain calm and relaxed without interrupting whatever he was doing. Then, step by step, we would slowly approach him – but immediately stop as soon as he changed his behaviour and showed any sign of fear or anxiety toward us. Next, we would stay completely still and quiet while waiting for him to shift his attention away from us and perform any other behaviour, even if it was something as small as just looking in a different direction, shifting his weight from one foot onto another, etc. As soon as he did, we would calmly walk away until he couldn’t see us. And we repeated this process over and over again until we were able to stand right in front of him without any signs of his previous aggressive behaviour, at which point we switched over to using positive reinforcement with food rewards to get him to step up, and so on.
The point is that in the beginning, he was able to understand that in order to get what he wanted, which was distance away from the scary thing, all he had to do was remain calm, and we would respect that and leave. When negative reinforcement involves the use of mild aversive stimuli and excellent attention to body language, it can be an effective and ethical method of training an animal and gaining their trust. Previously, animal trainers/behaviour professionals (myself included), avoided using negative reinforcement whenever possible because of its tendency to cause animals to be less enthusiastic to engage in training and even worsen aggression caused by fear/anxiety/stress. And this is definitely something that’s still valid – negative reinforcement is not ok or ethical when the aversive stimulus is significant and not something that already exists in an animal’s environment. For example, tightly squeezing/applying excessive pressure to a towel wrapped around an animal while attempting to restrain them for an exam/other procedure and decreasing pressure only when they stop struggling or “calm down” (this can actually cause chickens, parrots, and other small prey animals to succumb to heart attacks if they are not used to being handled).
I also wrote about my utter disapproval of punishment before, but negative punishment (taking away something that an animal enjoys/desires with the intent of discouraging a certain behaviour) can also be used ethically in some situations, as long as it’s also done very carefully and followed up almost immediately with positive reinforcement. It’s particularly useful for animals exhibiting attention-seeking or playful-aggressive behaviour – parrots, kittens, puppies, etc. who suddenly bite your finger too hard after playfully mouthing at your hand. When this happens, you can punish the biting behaviour by taking away what the animal wants in that moment - playing with you/your hand. Immediately stop playtime and take your hand away (this is when a gentle verbal cue like “no” can be used as a marker, as long as it’s not too loud/aggressive so as to startle and frighten the animal), keeping in mind that this “time-out” period should only last a few seconds. Then, quickly switch to positive reinforcement, either by asking the animal to perform a behaviour they already know (e.g. step up) and offering a reward, or by waiting for them to demonstrate calmer behaviour (nudging/licking your hand) and reinforcing that by resuming play, giving attention/treats, etc. This provides clear communication to the animal about what behaviour is and isn’t acceptable in order for them to get what they want.
I could go on and on about lots of other examples and more (like how even positive reinforcement can have a “dark side” when used in a coercive manner…but I think this is a good enough update for now!
Tbh, saying "it's okay to be attracted to this child-looking fictional character because they're actually canonically an adult" is very shitty, you're throwing under the bus people who are attracted to canonically child characters, and the more angry you become about this miniscule distinction, the less sympathetic I am towards your situation.
I am so confused about people grouping anattractional identities with agenderness. That doesn't really make any sense?
is this your first time getting prepositioned online?
no people say all kinds of prepositions at me online
stopppppp you know im shy
go to bed, kids.
There was a time as a kid where I stayed up way past my bedtime for a month straight. I'd be awake until 1am every night. It was a terrible idea. Kids do not have the impulse control to be trusted with those decisions.
go to bed.
There is a fundamental and significant difference between "kids will often make self destructive choices so adults need to help them avoid or overcome consequences" and "your child is literally fucking locked in their room over night."
The fact that y'all twats are reacting to the latter scenario with advice for the former in a big cackling circus of 'assuming everyone who disagrees with you is a child' shows a few things.
Your argument literally. LITERALLY. Comes down to "I think children aren't actually capable of having different needs from their parents" and then degrading ~with humour~ any child who disproves that.
God fucking help any kid who comes to you with a real problem.
Because see, here in the real world "I can't sleep at night no matter what and my parents won't take me to the doctor or help me,instead they punish me for being sick because they think I'm obstinate" IS TEXT BOOK DEFINITIONAL CHILD ABUSE
But you utter twats can't get over yourselves enough to remember one simple, SIMPLE fact.
I'm so happy the system worked for you! Really I am! Less child abuse in the world is a good thing!
But your dumbasses are now projecting this shit onto people who, again, were LOCKED IN THEIR ROOMS AND DENIED FOOD.
Or did you just not know what "the burrito test" is?
You know what, actually, that makes sense. You've shown yourselves giddily ignorant in every other way.
Here let me hold your hand:
The screenshot post IS ABOUT LOCKING CHILDREN IN THEIR ROOMS WITHOUT FOOD
And your response, so heartfelt and compassionate, so wise and kind, was the exact same thing their abusers say every night:
Go to bed, kid. You're too stupid to know what's hurting you. Mother knows best, and mother says 'get back in the locked cell you ungrateful troublemaker.'
Sincerely, with every ounce of my soul as both a human and a person who specifically works with disabled and abused people of all ages:
Even ignoring how traumatizing being forced to do things is, I'd rather children make mistakes about their lifestyle and health and learn from them than end up years later on their own with no skill or understanding how to make their own choices. Because guess what happened to me?
Because of having close to zero autonomy as a child, I couldn't take off a jacket outside when I was overheating till I was already an adult for multiple years. I've seen other people do it, it just didn't occur to me that I can too. My relatives made me up food allergies I didn't actually have, and it didn't occur to me to test them till someone told me to. It also didn't occur to me to go to doctors about some health issues. And there is likely a lot of stuff going on that still doesn't occur to me.
All this happened because my relatives didn't allow me to make choices in relation to my body or lifestyle. They trained me instead of teaching me. So I ended up doing things that were actively harmful to me for years because my autonomous response was suffocated - and I need to spend years now to bring it back. Periodically undersleeping or mildly poisoning myself as a child would be way less harmful than that.
People struggling to consider that starting a "tantrum" (a reasonable and justifiable response to having your autonomy limited) comes after failed attempts at more civil communication.
Some adults, and most parents, believe they're above a serious two sided discussion with their children.
I also really wonder what the spot-the-antisemitism blog is doing here.
Why do you hate straight people
heres my paypal
i’ll answer your question when i recieve payment :) thank you so much!
happy pride
I do think it's pretty funny that fanfic premises based on illegitimate kids as an excuse for crossovers over the years have gone from "Mom character CHEATED on Dad character 😡" to "once upon a time, mommy and daddy had a threesome and now we have YOU!" lmaoooo. People don't want marital discord they just want a third parent
This post is "three parents living happily in one house" erasure smh
Only two parents? In *this* economy?
I love this post. I LOVE this post. When I was in Kindergarten, my teacher wanted to show my family a drawing we were supposed to do if our parents or family members (something like that). At that time, I was living in the house with my mother, my aunt, my grandparents, and my dad would visit sometimes on the weekend. As a baby, my mom was involved with a gay man who even after he came out stayed close with the family (there’s tons of pictures of him holding me as a baby). Anyway, they showed the picture I drew, where I told my teacher I had FIVE PARENTS.
I was an only child, but I was never lonely. My aunt was like the cool big sister, my grandpa pushed me on the swing and taught me about yardwork and exposed me to classic musicals, my grandma is the reason I can cook and bake.
It doesn’t matter how they get there: more people in your child’s life is a good thing.
Fast forward to when I am 15. My grandparents adopt me. My aunt legally becomes my sister, her children legally become my niece and nephew, my grandfather, almost near retirement, gets to joke around with his office that he has a teenager at home and she’s accomplishing xyz insert whatever activity they were keeping me busy with. My grandparents wouldn’t have it any other way.
You know who “gave me away” at my wedding? Six different people all in unison agreeing to help me and my husband on our journey.
I had TWO father/daughter dances that night. No one batted an eye.
More people doesn’t make your kid’s life complicated. It makes it better, I promise. It takes a village. Whether that village comes about organically, legally, through marriage, or polyamory.
I didn't initially tap this post as good poly rep (you can tell it was my second thought), but I am always of the opinion that you can have as many parents in your life as are there are people willing to raise you. There is no such thing as 'replacing a rightful role'; there are only people who love you and are willing to put the time in to be there for you, and your willingness to receive them. Likewise, I imagine, come partners and children.
Thank you for adding your experience.
Extremely validated that someone else also assumed there was just a talking computer monitor in their house and they just lived like that
wow tumblr really loves piracy huh. this didn’t break 100 on any other platform, but got 10k notes in less than 24 hours here. yo ho tumblrinas.
Piracy 🤝 Physical Media 🤝 Libraries
Physical media has two hands 😌
As Charles Stross said, we used to have a word for people who collected media and organized it and made it available to everyone for free. We called them "Librarians".
Pirates and Librarians and Archivists aren't different types of people, they're different sides of the same coin. Pirate if you have to, Archive if it's at risk, Library...ize? If you can.
okay the lack of a verb for "Library" slightly ruins the metaphor. But the point is: Librarians make sure everyone can access it. Archivists make sure it will always exist. Pirates make sure it can be gotten for free, without limitations. We need all these roles at different times, and they all work together.
Remember, if you've seen Nosferatu, the super influential silent horror film, it's because of piracy. All the "legal" copies were destroyed. Archivists made sure the pirated copies lasted. And Librarians made sure you could easily watch a copy.
excluding tumblr, which social media site do you use the most?
