Hi everyone, I need to rant bc my mom and I can't have a conversation anymore without her bringing up my sexual orientation, religious views, QAnon nonsense, incredibly racist stuff, anti-Semitic stuff, misogynistic stuff, etc. She listens to Alex Jones every night and says she has nightmares every night because she lets his videos play while she's sleeping, but she keeps doing it because she believes he is a genius. For the record I am bisexual, and mostly I date women and queer men, or more left-leaning feminine men that my mom would not approve of. I am 22, not out to my mom, and have never introduced her to anyone that I've ever dated.
Anytime I try to have a normal conversation with her about what I did over the weekend, like I'll say I got coffee with a friend my mom will say "You're wasting precious years hanging out with women friends when you should be looking for a husband." She nags me to date a man, get married soon, have kids. She tells me I'll be suicidal and depressed at 40 if I don't get married and have kids. It gives me a ton of anxiety bc I do want to get married and have a family, but my mom telling me I basically expire by 25 makes dating so stressful for me, because I have this nagging voice of hers in the back of my head. Moreover, she tells me constantly to find a good Christian guy -- my mom and entire family were born Jewish, but my mom converted to evangelical Christianity a few years ago for QAnon. I absolutely would never date or marry a religious Christian person (no offense to anyone who practices, it's just that being Jewish and raising a Jewish family/home life is important to me) but she would only approve of a 6"2 Christian blonde guy from the South who votes Republican.
The other day she insisted on visiting me because I had surgery. I couldn't handle alone time with her, so I had her over at the same time as a friend of mine who I knew would not get offended by her nonsense. But my mom couldn't stop saying the most insane, horrible things the entire time, even if I asked her to stop. I literally just had surgery, my mouth was fucking bleeding, and I'm asking my mom to stop saying the word "pedophile" every 2 seconds to talk about the "satanic pedophile cult of democrats" and she continues to do it every time. She complained about the Jews running Hollywood to make commercials with same sex and interracial couples, among other comments.
My mom is just incredibly socially maladjusted and has no friends or loved ones besides me and my siblings. She thinks that the way to create intimacy and connections with others is to be toxic, provocative, get a response, etc. She can't just socialize normally and talk about the weather and work and movies because literally anything you say she has a response i.e "It's been a cold summer so far" "That's because the Jews control the weather"; "I'm getting dinner at a new restaurant with a friend" "You're wasting your time having friends, you're too old to be hanging out with friends every night, you should just find a husband now and settle down. Plus that restaurant is in a gay neighborhood so the food might have AIDS."
Today was my final straw and my first time posting because she was having a hard week at work so she texted me "You're straight, right?" She texts this to me every now and then like it's a tic. Sometimes I just say yes, but recently it's been getting on my nerves that I even have to waste any energy or time responding to these texts, and she asks my constantly over text and in person, probably multiple times per month even though in the past I've told her I am. I just said "I'm sorry your work is hard, but it's almost the weekend!" she got mad that I didn't confirm my heterosexuality, even though she asks constantly and I've told her in the past that I'm not answering the same text or question 50 times. She sent me all these texts about "God I can't take it anymore" because I didn't reply to her millionth text asking if I am straight.
My overall irritation is that I'm not the type of kid who's like "I'm queer and this is my girlfriend, and you have to whole-heartedly accept us or else I'll never speak to you again!!" I don't care if my mom is homophobic personally, I'm just sick of it infecting every single one of our interactions. We can't talk about anything anymore; I work at a synagogue part-time so I can't talk about my job because she says anti-Semitic stuff; I'm a Humanities major so I can't talk about anything I learn about or read in school because a lot of it is gender theory or critical race theory; I can't talk about what I do with my friends because it's time I'm spending not looking for a husband. Basically I can only have small talk with my mom, the kind you'd have with someone waiting in a long line for a bank or store opening.
I'm just so angry that I can't talk about anything with my mom. Whenever we do have a rare "good" conversations it's incredibly controlled and is like small talk. It feels like I am talking to a stranger. I just wish she would wake up and start acting normal, stop going on 4chan and Alex Jones etc. But she is in so deep. I get so creeped out how she is constantly asking me about my sexuality and asks in this sad, weird, little voice "Y-y-you're straight, right?" like she's so scared I'm not. A year ago I had to move out because she found my social media, which has evidence of me not being straight, and she called me crying saying she's having a heart attack and might go to the ER and threatened to k*ll herself if I'm gay. Literally saying "If you don't say you're straight right now I'm going to k*ll myself."
It feels like working with a 3 year old with her. It's like how sometimes a sticker chart works on a toddler's behavior, sometimes it's time out, sometimes it's a hug, but you just never know what's going to get them to act right. Except my mom is 51. In therapy I did learn some good conflict resolution techniques; changing the subject, giving her positive directions like "I want to hear about where you eat out for lunch at work" before she can spiral on a rant, gray rocking -- the problem is like a toddler, sometimes the techniques work and sometimes they don't so I am always shooting in the dark and it's such a huge mental and emotional burden to constantly navigate which thing is gonna work. Sometimes if I ignore a text she blows up, or if I change the subject calmly she freaks out "Why are you changing the subject?!" and then other times those things work, or other things do and then a week later they don't. I just feel like I'm not being paid enough (or at all) to put up with her constant tantrums. I constantly have to "be the bigger person" and just send a text that makes me uncomfortable, or sit through horrible things to hear -- but I'm the actual child, why am I being the bigger person all of the time?
The last thing I want to say is that my mom has a lot of trauma and emotional problems she has never dealt with. My dad cheated on her, and since she believes the only way she can be happy is to have a husband, she has projected that insecurity onto me and tells me the only way I'll be happy is with a husband, that if I don't "give her a baby" in the next year or two she will k*ll herself, etc. She won't seek therapy and can't talk to any friends about anything because she has no one.

Hello NMSTG Community,
The Problem: If you are not aware of what has been happening on reddit let me enlighten you all. Recently Reddit has posted that they will be making an API change to reddit which will allow them to Charge 3rd party service providers for the rates they are being used at. This means the more the Services get used the more they will have to Pay. This a really saddening new as a lot of people in the community use 3rd party service providers such as Apollo, Reddit is Fun, Moderators Toolbox and so many more. With this new update most of these services will likely have to shut down or will be attached with a price tag instead of being free. This means a lot of people who not only use these services as extension but also for health reasons such and vision, hearing and other disability/impairments will suffer.
What is the community doing about this?: On June 12th a lot of the subs are taking a stand and doing 48 hours of blackout to change the outcome or have Reddit drastically improve the API changes to come. Some subs are even going dark permanently until changes have been. As of now We believe reddit is having an internal meeting discussing the API Changes and we can find out more on what happens the announce it.
What are NMSTG doing?: After a lot of discussion and arguments within the Moderation team we all have concluded this. The Sub will stay online and functional and everything will still be running. Why? Well in short, every NMS update comes with its issues, bugs, new players and tons of questions. This means non consistent reddit users coming to this platform to ask specific questions and report bugs that Game Devs will use our bug threads as a tool to get feedback. As saddened and disappointed we are with reddit horrendous changes we cannot subject every player of NMS and Game Devs to force to part take in a blackout.
What are we doing instead?: Instead of Shutting down the sub completely we are taking personal days off. A few mods will show up here and there to check on sub, but it will remain left alone for 2 days simulating a shutdown. People are welcome to do the same and just log off reddit for those days! Gamers who do not want to be part of the blackout are always free to come and post questions, report bugs, and use all our links and services. As for the Mod questions and Sub questions will be answered when we get back.
Our view on this!: We as a mod team are really disappointed with reddit to push away its users and copy all the things their platforms supporter’s aka 3rd party service providers have work so hard to accomplish. To charge these 3rd party services who are putting their work out free with egregious prices just to stay function is disgusting. We hope reddit can make these changes on a fair basis and not charge free services so people who really need them don’t have to suffer on their behalf!
Expectations: We understand that you NMSTG reddit community want us to shut down but after very careful consideration we have chosen not to do a traditional shutdown. We also understand that you are upset but we are taking into consideration all the players on different platforms such as Nintendo, Mac, Xbox, PlayStation when we make this decision. We want people to still use our Sub to answer questions, report bugs and want Game Devs to have access to Bug Reports via our Mega thread.
Thank you everyone for showing support to this cause, let’s all show Reddit just how much we care about our 3rd party service providers!
- Mod Team

So I wrote this. Recycled ideas, but eventually all of this will be cited. It's basically my own CES Letter. The formatting is weird because this is coming over from Notion.
I had to write this out to start my own deconstruction anyway, but giving it to my spouse will be interesting. Read it if you want. Critique it if you want. I just had to get this out into the universe.
​

1. The concept that the Church can lie to you
   
   1. Rather than being told the entire truth about Joseph Smith’s death, we are told that he is innocent of any crime and that he went to deliver himself up. The truth of the matter is, Joseph Smith was in jail for destroying the property of William Law, who was creating a newspaper called the Nauvoo Expositor. He ordered the printing press be destroyed and violated the first amendment, as well as destroying another’s property. The newspaper exposed polygamy and many of the other immoralities of the Church. On the surface, this lie doesn’t seem egregious, but D&C 135 section mentions that Joseph was a martyr for the religion, and I was always taught this. However, he didn’t deliver himself up to be killed and it wasn’t because he was a “mormon”; it was because he broke the law and had angered a mob. All of this was a direct result of him practicing polygamy and yielding so much power.
   2. The method of translating the Book of Mormon was largely misrepresented to me as a youth, missionary, and young adult. I was always taught, whether through art or articles, that Joseph used the Gold Plates to translate the Book of Mormon.
   3. However, upon widespread discovery of further quotes and scrutiny, in 2014 the Church admitted that the translation was done through a rock and a hat. This is justified by quoting the Book of Mormon where it talks about bringing forth a stone to shine forth in the darkness. (Alma 37:23-24). The methods of translation accounts differ from each other. Martin Harris saying they were done by sitting across the table. Oliver Cowdery saying it was done by the urim and thummim or two stones and spectacles. To be clear, I am okay with some ambiguity surrounding the translation, or it being by the power of God. What I’m not okay with is the church deceiving how it was done until the internet era forced them to release the Gospel Topic Essays on this subject.
   4. The implementation of polygamy. a. Left ambiguous for a reason. How Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, Wilford Woodruff, Heber C. Kimball and many other high ranking church members took many wives including teenage wives. The church’s essay on this topic refers to Helen Mar Kimball, a 14 year old, as “several months before her 15th birthday.” In fact, they even say that Helen said it was for “eternity alone” but that is an out of context poem from Helen’s journal. There is no proof of sexual relations, but there are proof in many other relatoinships, including Fanny Alger, Joseph’s first “wife” that Oliver Cowdery called a filthy affair. He was excommunicated partly due to that statement. b. Joseph Smith wrote a letter to 19-year old Nancy Rigdon propositioning her to marry him after she denied his appeal in 1842. This letter is quoted in General Conference many times over the years, “Happiness is the object and design of our existence, and will be the end thereof if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God.” He then goes on to tell her that we cannot obey the commandments if we don’t know them and what seems wrong, can actually be right in certain circumstances. He quotes the times God has contradicted Himself in the scriptures. This letter is gross. Note that it comes right before the plural marriage revelation D&C 132. c. Joseph claimed that an angel with a drawn sword made him marry Zina Huntington Jacobs, despite her engagement to Henry Jacobs. He sent Henry on missions. She did stay faithful and was eventually sealed to Brigham Young, who also subsequently sent Henry Jacobs on missions. d. This doesn’t even take into account the actions of preceeding prophets who were married to dozens of women, sealed to hundreds, and many of them were underage. Wilford Woodruff for instance sealed himself to a 6 year old girl who had passed away, inexplicably. Maybe he didn’t know? Maybe he did? Who knows.
   5. D&C 132- Joseph Smith was sealed to over 20 wives before being sealed to Emma. He denied being polygamous publicly multiple times and the relief society (of which, Emma was president) wrote a letter condemning polygamy, while one of the presidency members was sealed to Joseph.
      1. Law of Sarah was violated before it was ever implemented
      2. Joseph performing a second marriage to the Whitney sisters after Emma approved it.
      3. Women must be virgins, while Joseph was married to other married women (at least 2).
      4. Abraham was not commanded by God to practice plural marriage, he was asked by Sarah to marry Hagoth because Sarah was barren.
      5. Additionally, Jacob condemns polygamy in the Book of Mormon but then God okays it in the D&C 132, both of them specifically citing the examples of Soloman and David.
      6. Plural marriage is the “new and everlasting covenant” implying that plural marriage in the celestial kingdom will be the new and everlasting covenant and required.
      7. 5. Historicity of the Book of Abraham There is an entire Gospel Topics Essay on this but the background is as follows. A guy named Michael Chandler shows up in Kirland with mummies and a bunch of scrolls. They were unearthed by Napoleon’s raiding of the Egyptian catacombs. Joseph believes that they are scrolls that contained writings of Abraham. He begins translation in 1835 and publishes it in May of 1842. The odds that these mummies, coming from a salesman who had a lot to gain, containing the written word of Abraham has always seemed really fortunate. In the Pearl of Great Price, the heading says they are penned by “the hand of Abraham” but according to scholars in and out of the church, they were written much later. “These fragments date to between the third century B.C.E. and the first century C.E., long after Abraham lived.” Not only is it not written by Abraham’s hand, it is also not anything to do with Abraham. In Joseph’s time, the Rosetta Stone had not been widely discovered. He began translating this book and now, experts know that these are standard funerary texts. The Facsimiles (pictures) have nothing to do with the sacrifice of Abraham. Everyone virtually agrees that what is on the remains of the scroll (most of which was lost in the Chicago fire but then recovered), is not what Joseph translated. This casts a large shadow of doubt on Joseph’s ability to translate. The Church is admitting that Joseph translated incorrectly. The only way to reconcile this is that Joseph used these scrolls to channel the Spirit to record what is in the Book of Abraham today. The doctrines in Abraham largely expand on the Genesis story but go deeper in doctrines about plurality of Gods and the creation of the universe and stars. Some of this goes against the Book of Mormon’s view of God. The Authenticity of the Book of Mormon
      8. This is arguably the largest domino that needs to stay in place. Here are a few quotes demonstrating the absolute necessity of the Book of Mormon being an authentic history of the peoples on this continent.
      9. “The Book of Mormon is God’s compelling witness of the divinity of Jesus Christ, the prophetic calling of Joseph Smith, and the absolute truth of this Church.” - Tad R. Callister
      10. “The Book of Mormon is the most important religious text to be revealed from God to man ‘since the writings of the New Testament were compiled nearly two millennia ago.’ Joseph Smith declared the Book of Mormon to be “the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion.” It is the only book that the Lord Himself has testified to be true.” - President Nelson
      11. “I testify that one cannot come to full faith in this latter-day work—and thereby find the fullest measure of peace and comfort in these, our times—until he or she embraces the divinity of the Book of Mormon and the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom it testifies…and if he or she leaves this Church, it must be done by crawling over or under or around the Book of Mormon to make that exit. In that sense the book is what Christ Himself was said to be: “a stone of stumbling, … a rock of offence,” a barrier in the path of one who wishes not to believe in this work.” - Jeffrey R. Holland.
      12. "All that we have, all that we do hinge on the truth of that account of the boy Joseph Smith. If it is true, then everything that we have in this Church is true and is more precious and worth more than anything else on earth. If it is false, we are engaged in the greatest fraud that was ever perpetrated on earth.” - Gordon B Hinckley
      13. So with all that being said, this is my biggest stumbling block. I will begin with my own issues with the book that happened long before I was ever introduced to anything outside of approved Church material.
      14. The Sermon on the Mount given to the Nephites in 3 Nephi matches almost exactly to the one given in Matthew, with slight changes. He sets up a church similar to the one set up with Peter. But, the only issue is years later, Joseph Smith writes the JST and corrects different things in the Matthew version of the Sermon. But, if the Book of Mormon is the most correct book on earth, wouldn’t the writings have been exactly what the Savior meant?
      15. 2 Nephi 3 - Book of Mormon writes Joseph into the text relating a prophecy given to Joseph in Egypt, saying that a choice seer will be raised up and he will be named the Joseph after his father. 2 Nephi 3: 14-16
      16. There is a huge time lapse between Jarom and Omni to get us into Mosiah. 399 BC to 130 BC. The prophets basically write nothing and it seems like it’s just a transition to get to Mosiah.
      17. Ammon chopping off a ton of arms and all the people bring them to the king. The story of Ammon in general is crazy. The King is struck down for 3 days and his wife thinks he is dead. Then, Ammon converts this king who then goes and rescues Ammon’s brothers from another king.
      18. Other direct copies from the New Testament and Paul specifically found in the Book of Mormon. Moroni 7 is basically the same phrasing and concepts taught in 1 Corinthians 13. 2 Nephi 4:17 says “O wrteched man that I am” matches exactly to Romans 7:24.
      19. Alma the Younger’s story mirrors Paul the apostles history almost exactly. Both are destroying the church, get struck down by an Angel, go on to become amazing missionaries and even both appear before King’s and wicked people.
      20. The concepts taught in the Book of Mormon are basically christian. They are practicing Christianity as soon as middle of Mosiah, which is like 100BC. They are baptizing and confirming with the Holy Ghost. However, since Christ hadn’t fulfilled the law of Moses and they should’ve been practicing the Mosaic law. The book contains basically zero Mosaic and Hebrew traditions, which Lehi and his family would have been sharply familiar with. Instead, they practice Christianity before Jesus had even been born or practiced the Atonement.
      21. Joseph Smith almost never quotes from it. In fact, I’ve searched and searched and only found him reference it maybe once or twice. If this book is so important, shouldn’t it had been quoted from extensively. It doesn’t become a huge focus until basically the 1980s with Ezra Taft Benson started “flooding the earth with the Book of Mormon.” I’ve read Brigham Young’s entire Discourses of Brigham Young and he rarely mentions the Book of Mormon. While this proves very little, it just intensifies the idea to me that Joseph wrote it and did not consider it authentic scripture, even for himself.
      22. King Zedekiah Problem - The timeline of when Nephi left Jerusalem in the reign of King Zedekiah in preparation for the destruction of Jerusalem. But, King Nebuchednezzar had already invaded Judah twice by 599BC., two years prior to the Book of Mormon. He then Installed Zedekiah (formerly known as Mattaniah) as King of Jerusalem (2 Kings 24:11-18). So what does this mean?
      23. I will leave out the potential influences here because I do not think they are helpful nor likely to be true source material for the Book of Mormon. I think they are largely speculation and created just to create doubt without much validity or true sources. Do we know if Joseph accessed these works? Not really. But, it’s possible. There are a myriad of other problems with the Book of Mormon when examined scientifically, but that doesn’t really bother me so much. The church has an essay on DNA of Israelites not being in “Lamanite” or native american blood, despite many church leaders preaching that for years. It’s even included in the Book of Mormon title page until like 2006 or something. Additionally, Joseph Smith almost never quotes or teaches from the Book of Mormon. If it’s the most correct book of any on the earth, why is he not basing his sermons off these stories and scriptures?
      24. The Book of Mormon require that 3 key events from the Bible be literal events: a global flood in the times of Noah that covered the entire earth, Adam and Eve in the garden, and different languages occuring because God cursed people at the Tower of Babel.
      25. When I read the Book of Mormon, if I view it from a purely protestant view, it matches up doctrinally. In fact, it matches more purely with a presbyterian or methodist view of the atonement and doctrines (including the original trinitarian concepts taught in the Book before changes by Joseph Smith in 1837, eight years after the Book of Mormon was published and his first vision account that mentions God and Jesus being separate beings)
      26. The Charles Anthon Story is posed as a faith promoting story and prophecy fulfillment of Isaiah 29:11-12, where the learned wouldn’t be able to read a sealed book. So here’s the Church Narrative as found in JSH.
      27. Once i take off my believing member hat and look at this story objectively, it looks to me like complete and total BS. I am honestly insulted that this was taught and passed off to me as some amazing prophecy of Isaiah that was passed on to me.

Disavowed teachings and behavior of former prophets and leaders.

1. Brigham Young
   1. Adam-God theory was taught in the temple and considered straight doctrine by the “prophet” Brigham Young.
   2. Blood Atonement was also taught in the early Utah days
   3. Brigham taught that no man can receive the highest exaltation without taking on extra wives.
   4. Brigham young definitely was in approval (either before or after) of the Mountain Meadows Massacre, which is the slaughtering of innocent immigrants heading west. They luckily spared the smallest children and raised them Mormon. He scapegoated John D Lee who suffered the death penalty, despite being rewarded with “wives” by Brigham Young prior to that. Hmmmm
2. Blacks and the Priesthood
   1. So so so many quotes could go under here talking about how black people would never receive priesthood or temple covenants. The list could go on. I don’t need to repeat them all but in the Gospel Topics Essays, the Church disavows all racist teachings from the past.
   2. Book of Mormon and Abraham still talk about the curse of dark skin. The Lamanites are cursed but then will become “white and delightsome” as they repent (according to Spencer W. Kimball)
   3. How many prophets were completely wrong on this topic? Even after the Civil Rights movement which was going on 15 years earlier. The Church always seeems to be a step behind.
3. Polygamy
   1. Again, I could write a book on how much early leaders emphasized the heavenly requirement for a man to have multiple wives.
   2. Wilford Woodruff was sealed to like a 200 something wives on his birthday, including a six year old who had passed away. This can be found on FamilySearch
   3. The leaders of the Church didn’t stop practicing polygamy until around 1910, which is 20 years after the Manifesto, forced upon them by the US Government. This policy change wasn’t inspiration — to was a matter of the Mormons keeping their stuff or not.
4. Science
   1. Age of the Earth — Joseph Smith says that the earth has a temporal existence of 7,000 years before it will receive it’s eternal glory. This was a common thought back then and ties back into the Old Testament timeline. I was taught this in Seminary. Going back to Adam and Seth, then to Abraham and to modern day. It all lines up so that the Second Coming will be happening soon.
   2. Adam + Eve — This one is very hard for me to get past because the proof is indisputable: human life did not begin 6,000 years ago by two human beings. There was physical death long before it was introduced by the partaking of the forbidden fruit. It is fact. To deny it would be like denying that the Earth is round or orbits the Sun. So is this an allegory? Well Joseph Smith down to current general authorities have taught that this is LITERAL. The temple clearly emphasizes this. This is something BIG to get wrong. Considering Joseph Smith taught that it happened in the garden of Eden which was in Missouri.
   3. Noah’s Ark — This has to be literal as it is in the Book of Mormon as a fact. It’s also been “revealed” to have been a literal, global flood that covered the earth and cleansed the earth of all inhabitants. We also have doctrine in our church that says modern day revelation has confirmed this fact. But, this “story” is largely based on the Babylonian tale “The Epic of Gilgamesh.” It was recorded before the Hebrew Bible recorded the tale of Noah. The stories are earily similar and there are so many throughout other cultures of a great flood. Maybe that makes it more likely? Or maybe it was just a prevailing thought in that time period. Either way, scientific evidence knows that Noah’s Ark never happened because a huge flood never happened. And ask yourself, how in the world would they get all the animals on a boat? Is this really realistic?
   4. Tower of Babel — This is the genesis of the Jaredites. The Lord was confounding the language of the people, so the Brother of Jared goes and asks that they are spared. Eventually they are led to the Americas (which has a host of other problems). But, this story has to be literal because that’s exactly what’s happening in the Jaredite civilization to lead them to cross the ocean. But language evolved over tens of thousands of years and had nothing to do with a tower in around 2500 BC.
   5. Evolution — This fact goes along with Adam and Eve. Modern day prophets have disavowed this fact. In fact, Joseph Fielding Smit said “If evolution is true, the church is false” in Doctrines of Salvation, which was written while he was the prophet.

​

1. Sexual Assault Cover Ups - This one is pretty self explanatory. There are hundreds of occasions and the most recent ones in the news are pretty disgusting. The fact that the Church didn’t report, and had systems in place to protect itself rather than the victims, makes me sick.
   
2. First Vision Accounts - In many Church media films and the way I was taught at a young age, Joseph had the first vision and then was mocked by the people of Palmyra for believing in visions. I had not idea that this was not the case. In fact, Joseph never wrote anything down until 1832. The accounts from 1832, 1835, 1838, and 1842 paint a picture of someone who was expanding, molding, and letting this vision evolve. The reasons why he went out to pray in the trees changes. First, it’s to receive a remission of his sins. He also says in that account that he’s already concluded that the church’s of his day are fallen. Then it evolves. He also says the Lord appears. Then it’s angels. Then it’s the Lord and His Father. He mentions that it had never entered his heart that they were all wrong in the Canonized JSH we have in the Pearl of Great Price. But, then he says he already knew they were wrong in earlier versions? In fact, Asa Wild and Norris Stearns have visions in 1815 and 1823 in the same area as Joseph Smith and the verbiage used is similar. Norris Stearns says, “At length, as I lay apparently upon the brink of eternal woe, seeing nothing but death before me, suddenly there came a sweet flow of the love of God to my soul, which gradually increased. At the same time, there appeared a small gleam of light in the room, above the brightness of the sun, then at his meridian, which grew brighter and brighter: As this light and love increased, my sins began to separate, and the Mountain [of sin] removed towards the east. At length, being in an ecstasy of joy, I turned to the other side of the bed, (whether in the body or out I cannot tell, God knoweth) there I saw two spirits, which I knew at the first sight. But if I had the tongue of an Angel I could not describe their glory, for they brought the joys of heaven with them. One was God, my Maker, almost in bodily shape like a man. His face was, as it were a flame of Fire, and his body, as it had been a Pillar and a Cloud. In looking steadfastly to discern features, I could see none, but a small glimpse would appear in some other place. Below him stood Jesus Christ my Redeemer, in perfect shape like a man-His face was not ablaze, but had the countenance of fire, being bright and shining. His Father’s will appeared to be his! All was condescension, peace, and love!”
   

Ultimately, all of these issues paint a picture, right? The character flaws and mistranslations of Joseph Smith, along with the setting in which he was raised all take away from his prophetic ability. There are more issues that I haven’t even touched on. LGBT issues, the treatment of women, the kinderhook plates, etc. There are more issues touched on in the CES Letter. But, these are things that stick in my mind when I try to imagine believing the Church is true again.
I believe Joseph Smith started writing the Book of Mormon to make money. Then, when it got close to publishing, he decided to start a religion. With the help of Sidney Rigdon, the Church grew and he introduced different aspects of "the Restoration" and eventually the power went to his head.
Being "prophet" brought him three things key for cult leaders. Money. Sex. Power. He got his living taken care of and people built him a house. He had around 40 polygamous wives and preyed on underage girls. He was dubbed king of the world by the Council of the 50 and was Mayor of Nauvoo.
How can I conclude anything other than him being a cult leader? This barely even touches on Brigham and the subsequent prophets that made huge mistakes.

I'm trying to figure out how I became neurotic . . . because that's what I think I am. During the past few years, it seems like I cannot take life in stride as I used to. Latest example: Soon, I'm taking a 3-week bucket-list trip to Europe that got derailed in 2020 by Covid. It's my first real vacation in 22 years. I should be happy, right? When I'm asked "Are you getting excited," I smile and say "yes," but I'm actually thinking "No." I feel nothing but dread. In fact, if there were some way I could back out of the trip without losing a ton of $$, I would.
I envisioned my trip planning going one way, but it seems like nothing is going as planned. I feel horrible guilt leaving my 2-yo cat even though I arranged for a cat sitter to come in for two hours a day (2, 1-hr visits). But I even made it better bc I managed to cobble together a collection of relatives and friends to house/cat sit while I'm away. But just in the past 2 weeks, my cat has gotten sick, and it turns out that what he has is a chronic condition that could pop up at any time. I have this sinking feeling that he'll die while I'm away. Another thing that bothers me is that my neighbor has had some work being done on her house since Nov. I thought it would be finished way before now, well before my house sitters arrive (I live in a tourist area, and a big part of the appeal for them to house sit is my location). It isn't. She must have gotten a bargain basement price, bc this guy is taking his time and plays his radio loudly. I haven't been able to even sit on my porch for more than 6 months, and now I have to worry about the people who are house sitting having to put up with that (the man who is doing the work was belligerent when I asked him to lower his radio & he defiantly made it higher; I talked to my neighbor & she did nothing). Additionally, my house is old and unless I stay on top of it, it looks run down. So I've had to get it in shape in preparation for the people staying here. I've worked my fingers to the bone (repainting areas, replacing old things, etc). Other, small things have happened -- my retainer broke, the weather has been unusually cold (even in my destination area---which I thought would be a place of sunny warmth).
But deep down, I know all of this shouldn't bother me. So what? It's life. I used to be able to roll with the punches. Now, any small deviation from my plans depresses me. A few months ago, I took that Big Five personality test. I assumed I would fall w/in "Conscientious." I was close, but I was initially surprised to find that I fell within Neuroticism. But it made sense, once I thought about it more. I have somehow become Neurotic. Why, though? How did this happen? I used to be a normal person.

My wife and I have been married for 13 years and together for 17 years. We have 4 kids together, two are in school and the other two are still in diapers. We've had our ups and downs over the years. Almost got divorced 4 years ago, but ended up getting back together and having 2 more kids after. We agreed we are done having kids at this point. Now that the youngest just turned 1, her behavior has started to shift dramatically. After having 2 kids back to back, she was self-conscious about her body (which is totally understandable). I've really worked to be there for her and provide support. Constantly letting her know she is beautiful and sexy.
Now that she is starting to feel more like "herself," she is really focused on her body and taking more selfies and spending time in front of the mirror taking sexy pics. I don't understand it, but if it works for her, I'm not going to question it. If that was it, I would have no issues.
About a month and a half ago she mentioned that she feels like we are living more like roommates. At the time I told her we have 4 kids and 2 of them are under 2, I know it isn't great, but we should have more time for each other as all our kids grow older. Nothing further from her at that point. About 3 weeks later (and week before we were supposed to travel internationally for the 1st time as a family), she blindsides me saying she is feeling insecure and asking about my relationship with a pseudo coworker. She's essentially a contractor for the company that I work for and we have to work together on all sorts of reports and such. She has my cell # and we talk over the phone or by email as needed, but it's purely professional. She's 15 year older than me, not my type and has her own family. We barely know much about each other's family and to top it off, I've only seen her in person (in the office) 3 times since the pandemic started. I tried to explain it to her the best I could, but to no avail. She wouldn't let it go, digging in, seemingly pushing me to answer that there was more going on than there is. Unfortunately for me, I snapped and said something along the lines of "Well, I keep relationships with coworkers purely professional, unlike you." About 6 years ago she had an inappropriate relationship with a coworker that she has never fully owned up to today. I only found out because she was logged into Facebook on our shared computer and saw some messages between them saying they loved each other. This was a week after she said she wanted to get divorced the 1st time.
After that, we reconciled 3 months later, only to almost get officially divorced a year after that. I'm far from perfect and I've definitely caused issues in our relationship, but it feels (to me at least) she uses my past indiscretions (not cheating or anything like that on my part) as an excuse to look outside the relationship (for attention at the very least). I'll never know the true extent of what she's done, but it feels like with the latest round, she is setting it up for something. She is always glued to her phone and doesn't really engage in conversation a ton, unless it's about our kids. After we came back from our trip she said she wants space and is sleeping in another room. With that, she is withholding intimacy, stopped wearing her wedding rings in public (she never wears them at home). She says she doesn't want to go through the traditional divorce process and wants to raise the kids together in the house. I have no idea how that's supposed to work, but that's not something I can mentally entertain at this point. She says we do a good job raising the kids together, but she only wants a platonic relationship going forward. I feel like I've tried to provide a safe and loving environment for her and the kids for years. I've put my own needs on hold many times for the sake of the family and I feel like all I get in return in grief for not doing everything perfectly (or at least not the way she would do it). I'm constantly apologizing and she is never wrong and accountable for her own actions. In our 17 years together, she's probably apologized 10 times or less. I can't even really question her unless I want to have an argument.
Am I crazy to think that she is using this latest break to cheat? I've begged her in the past to stay together, but I can't do this to myself anymore. I don't know where things are headed in the future, but I feel like a shell of myself at the moment. I'm trying to stay strong for the sake of my kids and myself. Sorry for the long, somewhat confusing rant.

I know we’re all talking about DHop and OBJ, but I wanted to do some research into how Agholor actually compares to Proche, Duv, Wallace, and Robinson. Since y'all are prob wondering who Treadwell is and how he compares, I added him too.
Treadwell TLDR:

• 1st rd pick by Vikings in 2016
  
• 27yo, 6'2, 215lbs, 4.63 40
  
• Vikings '16-19, Falcons '20, Jags '21, Pats/Cardinals practice squad '22
  
• Injury history: broken leg '14 (college), missed 3 games in '16 with ankle sprain, missed 1 game in '16 (hamstring)
  

Does Agholor really have bad hands like the meme says? Here’s the stats:

Per game career stats

YDS/G Agholor 36 Duv 19.1 Robinson 18.7 Treadwell 16.1 Proche 6.5 Wallace 2.15
Y/R Agholor 12.5 Robinson 11.1 Proche 11.1 Treadwell 11.1 Duv 9.8 Wallace 9.3
TD Agholor 0.26 Duv 0.11 Robinson 0.10 Treadwell 0.07 Proche 0 Wallace 0
1D Agholor 1.51 Robinson 0.92 Duv 0.89 Treadwell 0.87 Proche 0.33 Wallace 0.08
LNG Robinson 89 Agholor 85 Treadwell 58 Duv 39 Proche 32 Wallace 18
REC/G Agholor 2.9 Duv 2 Robinson 1.7 Treadwell 1.4 Proche 0.6 Wallace 0.2
CATCH % Duv 73.8 Robinson 63.9 Treadwell 62.9 Proche 62.5 Agholor 59.3 Wallace 46.2
YDS/TGT Agholor 7.4 Duv 7.2 Robinson 7.1 Proche 7 Treadwell 7 Wallace 4.3

2022 total stats

YDS Robinson 458 Duv 407 Agholor 362 Proche 62 Treadwell 42 Wallace 33
Y/R Agholor 11.7 Duv 11 Robinson 9.5 Wallace 8.3 Proche 7.8 Treadwell 7
TD Duv 3 Agholor 2 Robinson 2 Proche 0 Wallace 0 Treadwell 0
1D Robinson 23 Duv 19 Agholor 12 Proche 3 Treadwell 3 Wallace 1
LNG Agholor 44 Robinson 31 Duv 31 Treadwell 17 Proche 12 Wallace 12
DROP % Wallace 14.3 Treadwell 10 Proche 5.9 Agholor 5.7 Robinson 3 Duv 2
REC/G Robinson 2.8 Duv 2.6 Agholor 1.9 Treadwell 1 Proche 0.5 Wallace 0.4
YDS/G Duv 29.1 Robinson 26.9 Agholor 22.6 Treadwell 7 Proche 4.1 Wallace 3.7
CATCH % Duv 75.5 Robinson 64 Treadwell 60 Agholor 58.5 Wallace 57.1 Proche 47.1
YDS/TGT Duv 8.3 Agholor 6.8 Robinson 6.1 Wallace 4.7 Treadwell 4.2 Proche 3.6

2022 per game stats

YDS/G Duv 29.1 Robinson 26.9 Agholor 22.6 Treadwell 7 Proche 4.13 Wallace 3.67
Y/G Agholor 11.7 Duv 11 Robinson 9.5 Wallace 8.3 Proche 7.8 Treadwell 7
TD/G Duv 0.21 Agholor 0.13 Robinson 0.12 Proche 0 Wallace 0 Treadwell 0
1D/G Duv 1.36 Robinson 1.35 Agholor 0.75 Treadwell 0.5 Proche 0.20 Wallace 0.11
LNG/G Agholor 44 Robinson 31 Duv 31 Treadwell 17 Proche 12 Wallace 12
REC/G Robinson 2.8 Duv 2.6 Agholor 1.9 Treadwell 1 Proche 0.5 Wallace 0.4
CATCH %/G Duv 75.5 Robinson 64 Treadwell 60 Agholor 58.5 Wallace 57.1 Proche 47.1
YDS/TGT Duv 8.3 Agholor 6.8 Robinson 6.1 Wallace 4.7 Treadwell 4.2 Proche 3.6

How much of an impact did scheme and Roman play in these stats?

Here's a breakdown of snap % from 2022:

• Duv 69%, plus 33% special teams
  
• Robinson 58%, plus 1% special teams
  
• Agholor 49%, 0% special teams
  
• Treadwell 34%, plus 24% special teams
  
• Proche 20%, plus 19% special teams
  
• Wallace 13%, plus 51% special teams
  

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:

- Duv is clearly a level above the others, and stats-wise was equal to if not better than Robinson. He's coming off injury, but I'm excited to see what he could do under Monken:
On a per game basis, Duv ranked 1st in 5 of these 8 metrics. And in the 3 Duv wasn't 1st in (yds/rec, lng, rec/g), he was very close. More importantly, Duv consistently ranked 1st on a per game basis in 2022 over WRs that didn't have Roman as an OC; even with Ricard and the TEs taking all the targets, Duv beat the others. Most intriguing: Duv's catch rate was much higher than the others at 75.5%, a full 11% higher than 2d place Robinson. His drop rate is also very low at just 2%. Part of this is probably Duv being used almost exclusively for jet sweeps rather than tougher catches in coverage over the middle, but Duv still averaged more TD/game last year than the others.
- Agholor and Robinson are pretty similar: Of these 8 per game metrics from 2022, Robinson was better in 4 of them: yds/g, 1D/g, rec/g, catch %/g. Agholor was better in yd/rec, TD/g (barely, they're basically tied at 0.13 and 0.12), LNG/g, and yds/tgt. The only stats where there's a noticeable difference were 1D/g, Robinson was double Agholor's last year. Agholor's longest rec was 44 vs Robinson's 31. Robinson's catch %/g was better at 64 vs 58.5. There also wasn't much of a difference between depth of target either, Robinson was 6.1 vs Agholor's 6.8.
- Production from last year doesn't really justify a higher contract for Agholor: A bit subjective, but Robinson and Agholor were pretty similar stats-wise last year. We gave Agholor a 1y/3.25m deal with 3.25m guaranteed, we got Robinson for 1y/1.035m with 895k guaranteed. Personally I wanted to keep Robinson but seems like he wanted more money. Details for his recent Rams contract aren't available yet. I'd guess we wanted to keep Robinson but since he wanted more money we weren't willing to keep him, leaving us to try finding other WRs in FA. Treadwell cost 1y/1.035, tbh I would've kept Robinson after he proved he helped the pass game a lot. I don't think they saved a ton of money but it all depends on what Robinson was asking for- considering he just went to the Rams who have the 4th lowest cap, I'd guess Robinson might've wanted to go to a team where he wouldn't be behind Andrews/OBJ/Bateman. I felt Robinson did more for the WR situation than everyone except Bateman and Duv, sad to see him go.
- Treadwell is a slight upgrade from Proche but not by much: Their career catch rates are nearly identical- Treadwell 62.9, Proche 62.5. Proche seemed to have a down year vs 2021, his '21 catch rate was 80% but in '22 it dropped to 47.1%. Treadwell's '22 catch rate was noticeably better at 60%, but Proche still finished with 20 more yds. In 2022, they tied in 1Ds, but Treadwell's drop rate was also a lot higher (10 vs 5.9). Treadwell had more yds/g (7 vs 4.1). Treadwell adds size though, which is something this team needed: Treadwell's 6'2 215 vs Proche 5'11 195. Surprisingly, while Treadwell's been in the NFL since 2016, he's only a year older than Proche, who was drafted in 2020. Proche was 24 when he got drafted. Proche didn't run the 40 so idk his time, but I'd guess it's similar to Treadwell's 4.63.
- Duv played a lot more than I expected in 2022: A lot of us felt Duv was barely on the field last year, but surprisingly he played 69% of the snaps last year. His usage actually went up in 2022- he had 51% in '21 and 34% in '20. Seeing him play more snaps than Agholor last year was very surprising.
- Proche per game in '22 wasn't that different from Wallace: Proche is def a better player, but wasn't as impactful as I expected. He averaged just 4.13 yds/g vs Wallace's 3.67, neither scored a TD last year, their longest rec was identical, their rec/g was basically identical (Proche 0.5 vs Wallace 0.4). The differences are still there though, Proche's career catch rate is 16% higher. Neither were targeted much at all in 2022: Proche 17 tgts vs Wallace's just 7. Wallace's drop rate last year was very high at 14.3% vs Proche's 5.9%. Considering all these WRs are generally in the slot WR role, Wallace is gonna have to be Boykin's ST replacement to avoid getting cut. Wallace does play a lot more ST (like 30% more) than the others, so they seem to like him there but he better get damn good at blocking.
-Agholor's career catch rate isn't great and is the 2nd lowest next to Wallace, but isn't that different from Robinson/Treadwell/Proche: Proche's per game career catch rate is 59.3%, which as expected isn't great. It was 59.9% with the Eagles so there's some truth to the meme. However, it's only 3% worse than Proche and Treadwell and only 4% worse than Robinson, so it's not like it's double digits worse.
- Agholor has never really played special teams: Interesting that despite being a ST coach, Harbaugh got Agholor who has basically never played special teams: Agholor was on ST for 5% of the snaps in 2016, 1% in 2019, and then 6 of his 8 seasons with 0% of the snaps on ST. Every other WR on the list played some ST last year except for Agholor, and Robinson played only 1% of the ST snaps in 2022. Thought that was kinda interesting and unexpected.
- Proche was on the field a lot less than I expected last year: After Bateman got hurt it seemed like it was just Proche and Robinson at WR with Duv being used for occasional sweeps, but no, Duv played a whopping 49% more of the offense snaps than Proche. With Wallace playing just 13% of the snaps, Proche actually wasn't on the field much more than Wallace was last year- Proche only played 7% more snaps than Wallace last year. Proche is def at a disadvantage vs Agholor though considering he had Roman, so I don't hold his weak production against him that much, although it's nice to have competition in the WR room. That being said, Agholor also got stuck with Patricia. For a 6th rounder, Proche's been pretty successful and should be proud of that. Seems like a really nice dude, on a personality basis he's always been 1 of my favs and I'll always root for him.
I was wondering how Agholor and Robinson compared to some of the other WRs, so I did the research and wanted to share it with the Flock so hopefully y'all found it interesting :)

5 and a half years ago EA held an AMA so disastrous that it was unreadable as downvotes pummelling the answering producers and directors to the ground. Back then I made an overview for Games.
Due to the high interest and high chance of being a shit show of similar or possibly greater proportion, here's an easily readable overview for the spez AMA.
I will edit as it goes on.

Introduction

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/

Question

Hi spez, I'm wondering, as many third-party apps are shutting down, what the official Reddit app will add to provide the same experience as these third-party apps once did?

Reply

The are a couple things we are focused on right now: mod tools, specifically an improved mod queue this month and improved mod mail after; and we’re doing a bunch of work on feeds and comments to make them more cohesive.

After edit:

There are a couple things we are focused on right now: mod tools, specifically an improved mod queue this month and improved mod log, mod mail after; and we’re doing a bunch of work on feeds and comments to make them more cohesive. We are also going to make the official Reddit apps more accessible.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnk2wk4/?context=3

Question

What were you thinking with your attempt to discredit Apollo by claiming that Christian threatened and blackmailed you? The confusion was sorted out during Christian's call with Reddit, yet you proceeded to claim that he blackmailed Reddit the following week. To me (and the rest of Reddit) it comes across as a blatant attempt to pit us against him.

Reply by spez

His “joke” is the least of our issues. His behavior and communications with us has been all over the place—saying one thing to us while saying something completely different externally; recording and leaking a private phone call—to the point where I don’t know how we could do business with him.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnk45r?context=3

Question

Why do you want to restrict NSFW from third party apps?

Reply by spez

It’s a constant fight to keep this content at all. We are going to keep it. But the regulatory environment has gotten much stricter about adult content, and as a result we have to be strict / conservative about where it shows up.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnk4pss/?context=3

Question

How are the API changes going to affect /blind and the blind community at large that use API for their screen readers to make reddit accessible to the visually impaired, because there are no other reasonable options?

Reply by spez

As I shared in my post, We want everyone to be able to use Reddit. As a result, non-commercial, accessibility-focused apps and tools will continue to have free access. We’re working with apps like RedReader and Dystopia and a few others to ensure they can continue to access the Data API.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnk5jfh/?context=3

Question

Apologies if this has been asked already, but I know there's been a request from the mods of some subreddits to delay the API pricing implementation by 90 days. It seems to me this would help developers and reddit both bridge some of the gaps between 3rd party apps and native reddit apps. This is a pretty big issue for mods and users on many fronts, and is leading to a good deal of pressure for subreddits to join the blackout. As a mod of AmItheAsshole in particular, I don't know if we'll be able to justify keeping our sub open without a clear commitment on a delay. Can you promise that?

Reply by spez

We’re continuing to work with folks who want to work with us. For what it’s worth, this includes many of the apps that haven’t been taking the spotlight this week.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnk647a/?context=3

Question

Mr. Huffman, over the past few years reddit has taken care to establish channels between users and administrators which can be used to probe new features on us so you can gauge what the response from the community would be to them. Why have none of these channels been used for this fundamental alteration to site functionality?

Reply by spez

We started sharing this information in April, and also had Mod Council calls following the post.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnk6rf8/?context=3

Question

Now that paid third party API access is planned, are there any plans to expand the third party API to include the full API accessible to first party apps, more specifically GraphQL? To clarify on GraphQL, I don't mean full access to execute arbitrary queries, I mean access to execute the same queries that the first party apps call. This would allow for fair competition now that commercial apps will need to pay.

Reply by KeyserSosa

We’re building our mid- and long-term API using Developer Platform which is GQL based and targeted to long term sustainability, for both our own and third party apps. The current deployed GQL APIs are still in the “work in progress” category and wouldn’t be suitable for broad consumption.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnk45yf/?context=3

Followup Question

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnk61bo/

Reply by KeyserSosa

Is this confirmation that third party apps will be able to execute/interact with devvit apps and that it will not be restricted/locked to first party apps?

We don’t know what devvit will eventually look like (as you mentioned, there are features we didn't think about), and how we'd make it secure in a multi-party environment is something we haven’t figured out yet. We’re working on supporting the large bot ecosystem first (which is also a pretty big use case for these APIs), and planning to build out from there. Our small steps into experience based apps (not just bots) are very early.

These "beta" APIs have been out for years now, is there any plans to open these up to third party API clients?

Open, yes. Complete, no. The roll out has been slow because there’s just a long tail of endpoints to cover, it’s effectively “noop” work for the product, and slow burn to get out. We’ve been hesitant to roll out usage at the very least because it means “lock in” on some endpoints that we’re not 100% sure we’re happy with before done. [Obviously, can version, etc. but support overhead there is not trivial for something that’s work in progress.]
Also devvit is forcing us to build a cleaner more sustainable API. We need to see that through before releasing it for fuller use.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnkaury/?context=3

Question

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnk26x7/ (very long)
Reply by FlyingLaserTurtle

Hope you'll accept my answers here.

So... The "longstanding rate limit" is actually per client per user.. So aggregating them to a client level and claiming they are 400,000% over the limit is a lie.

As we called out in this post, we are changing how we are going to enforce the rate limits to be per client id, so the numbers are accurate from that perspective.

Google and Amazon absolutely tell you how to be more effecient and help you in your use of their services..

You (and many others) are right on this one–as I mentioned to you in the call yesterday, I’m sorry I said that. We will work with partners to help identify areas of inefficiency. Since that post, we have already shared initial usage reports from March through early June with partners and are working on providing more detail.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnk7rfg/?context=1

Question

Why was the timeline of charging for the API so strict, given it would impact so many Apps and Users? - Will this be remediated? cont

Reply by spez

I acknowledge it was a tight timeline. For what it’s worth, we are continuing to chat with many of the developers who still want to work with us.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnk8m0z/?context=3

Question

The announcement of the API changes felt very abrupt. Your NYTimes interview suggests this was in response to the rise of ChatGPT and other large language model (LLM) products. Were these API changes already in the pipeline prior to ChatGPT or is this really a knee-jerk response to cut off / get a cut of LLM training data?

Reply by spez

Yes and no. Two things happened at the same time: the LLM explosion put all Reddit data use at the forefront, and our continuing efforts to reign in costs to make Reddit self-sustaining put a spotlight on the tens of millions of dollars it costs us annually to support the 3P apps.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnk9izp/?context=3

Question

I recently enabled Google's Search Labs feature to gain access to their generative search responses. This means I don't have to click-through to Reddit to see answers anymore, they're summarized directly on the Google Search page. Since Reddit is taking such an aggressive stance towards the use of Reddit data in training large language models (LLMs), are you considering blocking Google or Bing webcrawlers in addition to locking down the API?

Reply by KeyserSosa

We’re in active discussion directly with many of the companies behind the LLMs that have likely used Reddit data for training.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnka347/?context=3

Question

Why go forward with a raw pricing model for API usage rather than a profit sharing model similar to what Epic does with Unreal? Or at least a "get x requests free for non commercial use, otherwise talk to us for commercial usage" policy with profit sharing built in?
Gives an escape hatch for freeware tool developers, helps cash in on AI, and gives freemium apps an incentive to monetize knowing they don't have to "cover costs" so much as they just need to cut you in on the profits. Feels like it would solve a ton of problems here and incentivize API usage much the way Epic managed to get people to use Unreal Engine.

Reply by spez

We are following the model of “get x requests for free,” which applies to 90% of current API users. Profit sharing is more complex—could be interesting someday—so we’re starting off with heavy users sharing the cost.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnka9it/?context=3

Question

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnk426n/

Are there any specific plans from Reddit on how to handle moderators who need access to NSFW content for moderation purposes, potentially sitewide for more coordinated actors?

Reply by spez

We’re re-enabling pushshift for mod use cases in the next week or so. We’ve got a number of relevant mod tool improvements shipping soon: an improved mod queue this month, and mod log and mod mail coming thereafter. Mis-labeling communities as NSFW (or not) is a violation of our policies.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnkbkyl/?context=3

Question

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnk2fh0/ (long)

Reply

A: We are working with RedReader and Dystopia to make sure they have access and will continue to work with others. We’ll review requests to ensure that the app is non-commercial and focused on accessibility needs. Approved apps can use the Data API for free.
For our own apps, there is no excuse. We will do better.

After Edit (see here):

We are working with RedReader and Dystopia to make sure they have access and will continue to work with others. We’ll review requests to ensure that the app is non-commercial and focused on accessibility needs. Approved apps can use the Data API for free.
For our own apps, there is no excuse. We will do better.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnkccq7/?context=3

Question

How do you address the concerns of users who feel that Reddit has become increasingly profit-driven and less focused on community engagement?

Reply by spez

We’ll continue to be profit-driven until profits arrive. Unlike some of the 3P apps, we are not profitable.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnkd09c/?context=3

Question

Please, reply to developers who contact you. (long)

Reply by spez

Apologies for the delay. We are responding now.
If others have apps they would like to be considered for the paid API tier, please reach out here and select “This is a partnership request.”

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnkd694/?context=3

Question

Just a little suggestion, If you're really sorry, could you please update your comment https://old.reddit.com/redditdev/comments/13wsiks/api_update_enterprise_level_tier_for_large_scale/jmolrhn/ considering other people maybe will no read this?

Reply by FlyingLaserTurtle

Done.

https://old.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnkg8re/?context=3

Question

Was the community reaction not foreseeable to Reddit Inc? (cont)

Reply by Go_JasonWaterfalls

Over the years, we've had the privilege to receive mod input on products, programs, and initiatives that we’ve rolled out. That won't change. There will be cases when our decisions don’t fully align with all of the feedback we receive and often the feedback we receive isn’t unanimous. But we won’t stop seeking out your input. It does matter, it does change things, and we do respect and value it.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnkgh46/?context=3

Question

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnkhdk8/?context=3 (long)

Reply by spez

We can always do more, and better and faster, but we shared the progress we made over the past 24 months in a few posts (see here, here, and here). That list includes but is not limited to the following features: Mod Notes, User Mod Log, Mobile Removal Reasons, Mod Queue sort improvements, increased the number of removal reasons, Increased the subreddit emoji limit, Technical improvements to how automoderator functions, Improved the functionality of Modmail rate limits, Increased the Ban Notes character limit, Launched Subreddit 2 Subreddit Modmail, Adding removal reasons and content snapshots for content removed by Reddit, Text availability on all post types, Adding visibility into NSFW tagging, abuse removals, and appeals & approvals, Creation of the u/ModSupportBot, Remove as subreddit, Mod Notes & User Mod Log in Modmail, Mod Queue improvements (on desktop), Show Previous Mod Actions, Safety teams started testing a new ban evasion tool, We launched our new Mod Education site, Community Team made updates to our Top Mod Removal process, Automoderator was upgraded to include Subreddit karma, we updated the discoverability settings for subreddits within Community Settings, and Mod Insights. We also shared the set of enhancements coming in the next few months here.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnkhdk8/?context=3

Question

As a mod of a top 1% sub on Reddit we haven't received any contact from you or the admin team like you claimed. I'm sure you've probably talked with the group of legacy power mods that mod the biggest subs. But for us subs not in the bracket but still quite large with a fair bit of daily volume will there be any reaching out to our teams? Or do we have to do all the leg work to get the info and access to things like pushshift by ourselves?

Reply by Go_JasonWaterfalls

We have programs in place to support our largest communities and are working on ways to expand these to more communities. Additionally, we’re planning more events to meet and connect with moderators as well. To re-enable PushShift, it should be a straightforward process to fill out a short form so we can verify mod status so they can re-enable access.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnkhpfq/?context=3

Question

Why do you devote staff resources to initiatives such as the Mod Council and the Partnership Communities, without utilizing them ahead of time for feedback on wide-scale and potentially devastating changes such as this one? Where do you personally see the ROI?

Reply by Go_JasonWaterfalls

See response here.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnkiite/?context=3

Question

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnk29vb/ (long)

Reply by Go_JasonWaterfalls

First, thank you for all the years of dedication to Reddit. You’re amazing. We will continue to provide support to mods and are, in many cases, expanding our support via community events, partnerships, and enrichment. First off, we will continue to provide support for AMAs. Mod Council, Community Funds, Partner Communities, and community events (like the Mod Summit) will continue to be a core part of the community experience. Some examples:

• We are casting a wider net with Community Funds to support more project-types and countries
• Mod Summit is expanding to become global in scope with 5000+ moderators, and will include a fully virtual event platform, with investments in accessibility, multiple languages and covering multiple time zones. (You heard it here first: the first Mod Summit of the year is scheduled for November 4, 2023)
• Partner Communities just launched a few months ago, and continues to become available to more subreddits and expand its offerings.
• We are launching smaller, more intimate events that bring mods together to cover important topics in just a few months.

We are invested in rewarding and enriching your experience as a mod, and that will continue to be a core part of what we do.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnkjnh4/?context=3

Finish

Apparently, we're done.

The AMA’s done.
I can’t see anything in Reddit’s AMA with CEO Steve Huffman about the API changes to indicate that it’s over, but Reddit spokesperson Tim Rathschmidt tells me that it’s done.

https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/8/23754780/reddit-api-updates-changes-news-announcements

5 and a half years ago EA held an AMA so disastrous that it was unreadable as downvotes pummelling the answering producers and directors to the ground. Back then I made an overview for Games.
Due to the high interest and high chance of being a shit show of similar or possibly greater proportion, here's an easily readable overview for the spez AMA.
I will edit as it goes on.

Introduction

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/

Question

Hi spez, I'm wondering, as many third-party apps are shutting down, what the official Reddit app will add to provide the same experience as these third-party apps once did?

Reply

The are a couple things we are focused on right now: mod tools, specifically an improved mod queue this month and improved mod mail after; and we’re doing a bunch of work on feeds and comments to make them more cohesive.

After edit:

There are a couple things we are focused on right now: mod tools, specifically an improved mod queue this month and improved mod log, mod mail after; and we’re doing a bunch of work on feeds and comments to make them more cohesive. We are also going to make the official Reddit apps more accessible.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnk2wk4/?context=3

Question

What were you thinking with your attempt to discredit Apollo by claiming that Christian threatened and blackmailed you? The confusion was sorted out during Christian's call with Reddit, yet you proceeded to claim that he blackmailed Reddit the following week. To me (and the rest of Reddit) it comes across as a blatant attempt to pit us against him.

Reply by spez

His “joke” is the least of our issues. His behavior and communications with us has been all over the place—saying one thing to us while saying something completely different externally; recording and leaking a private phone call—to the point where I don’t know how we could do business with him.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnk45r?context=3

Question

Why do you want to restrict NSFW from third party apps?

Reply by spez

It’s a constant fight to keep this content at all. We are going to keep it. But the regulatory environment has gotten much stricter about adult content, and as a result we have to be strict / conservative about where it shows up.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnk4pss/?context=3

Question

How are the API changes going to affect /blind and the blind community at large that use API for their screen readers to make reddit accessible to the visually impaired, because there are no other reasonable options?

Reply by spez

As I shared in my post, We want everyone to be able to use Reddit. As a result, non-commercial, accessibility-focused apps and tools will continue to have free access. We’re working with apps like RedReader and Dystopia and a few others to ensure they can continue to access the Data API.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnk5jfh/?context=3

Question

Apologies if this has been asked already, but I know there's been a request from the mods of some subreddits to delay the API pricing implementation by 90 days. It seems to me this would help developers and reddit both bridge some of the gaps between 3rd party apps and native reddit apps. This is a pretty big issue for mods and users on many fronts, and is leading to a good deal of pressure for subreddits to join the blackout. As a mod of AmItheAsshole in particular, I don't know if we'll be able to justify keeping our sub open without a clear commitment on a delay. Can you promise that?

Reply by spez

We’re continuing to work with folks who want to work with us. For what it’s worth, this includes many of the apps that haven’t been taking the spotlight this week.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnk647a/?context=3

Question

Mr. Huffman, over the past few years reddit has taken care to establish channels between users and administrators which can be used to probe new features on us so you can gauge what the response from the community would be to them. Why have none of these channels been used for this fundamental alteration to site functionality?

Reply by spez

We started sharing this information in April, and also had Mod Council calls following the post.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnk6rf8/?context=3

Question

Now that paid third party API access is planned, are there any plans to expand the third party API to include the full API accessible to first party apps, more specifically GraphQL? To clarify on GraphQL, I don't mean full access to execute arbitrary queries, I mean access to execute the same queries that the first party apps call. This would allow for fair competition now that commercial apps will need to pay.

Reply by KeyserSosa

We’re building our mid- and long-term API using Developer Platform which is GQL based and targeted to long term sustainability, for both our own and third party apps. The current deployed GQL APIs are still in the “work in progress” category and wouldn’t be suitable for broad consumption.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnk45yf/?context=3

Followup Question

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnk61bo/

Reply by KeyserSosa

Is this confirmation that third party apps will be able to execute/interact with devvit apps and that it will not be restricted/locked to first party apps?

We don’t know what devvit will eventually look like (as you mentioned, there are features we didn't think about), and how we'd make it secure in a multi-party environment is something we haven’t figured out yet. We’re working on supporting the large bot ecosystem first (which is also a pretty big use case for these APIs), and planning to build out from there. Our small steps into experience based apps (not just bots) are very early.

These "beta" APIs have been out for years now, is there any plans to open these up to third party API clients?

Open, yes. Complete, no. The roll out has been slow because there’s just a long tail of endpoints to cover, it’s effectively “noop” work for the product, and slow burn to get out. We’ve been hesitant to roll out usage at the very least because it means “lock in” on some endpoints that we’re not 100% sure we’re happy with before done. [Obviously, can version, etc. but support overhead there is not trivial for something that’s work in progress.]
Also devvit is forcing us to build a cleaner more sustainable API. We need to see that through before releasing it for fuller use.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnkaury/?context=3

Question

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnk26x7/ (very long)
Reply by FlyingLaserTurtle

Hope you'll accept my answers here.

So... The "longstanding rate limit" is actually per client per user.. So aggregating them to a client level and claiming they are 400,000% over the limit is a lie.

As we called out in this post, we are changing how we are going to enforce the rate limits to be per client id, so the numbers are accurate from that perspective.

Google and Amazon absolutely tell you how to be more effecient and help you in your use of their services..

You (and many others) are right on this one–as I mentioned to you in the call yesterday, I’m sorry I said that. We will work with partners to help identify areas of inefficiency. Since that post, we have already shared initial usage reports from March through early June with partners and are working on providing more detail.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnk7rfg/?context=1

Question

Why was the timeline of charging for the API so strict, given it would impact so many Apps and Users? - Will this be remediated? cont

Reply by spez

I acknowledge it was a tight timeline. For what it’s worth, we are continuing to chat with many of the developers who still want to work with us.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnk8m0z/?context=3

Question

The announcement of the API changes felt very abrupt. Your NYTimes interview suggests this was in response to the rise of ChatGPT and other large language model (LLM) products. Were these API changes already in the pipeline prior to ChatGPT or is this really a knee-jerk response to cut off / get a cut of LLM training data?

Reply by spez

Yes and no. Two things happened at the same time: the LLM explosion put all Reddit data use at the forefront, and our continuing efforts to reign in costs to make Reddit self-sustaining put a spotlight on the tens of millions of dollars it costs us annually to support the 3P apps.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnk9izp/?context=3

Question

I recently enabled Google's Search Labs feature to gain access to their generative search responses. This means I don't have to click-through to Reddit to see answers anymore, they're summarized directly on the Google Search page. Since Reddit is taking such an aggressive stance towards the use of Reddit data in training large language models (LLMs), are you considering blocking Google or Bing webcrawlers in addition to locking down the API?

Reply by KeyserSosa

We’re in active discussion directly with many of the companies behind the LLMs that have likely used Reddit data for training.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnka347/?context=3

Question

Why go forward with a raw pricing model for API usage rather than a profit sharing model similar to what Epic does with Unreal? Or at least a "get x requests free for non commercial use, otherwise talk to us for commercial usage" policy with profit sharing built in?
Gives an escape hatch for freeware tool developers, helps cash in on AI, and gives freemium apps an incentive to monetize knowing they don't have to "cover costs" so much as they just need to cut you in on the profits. Feels like it would solve a ton of problems here and incentivize API usage much the way Epic managed to get people to use Unreal Engine.

Reply by spez

We are following the model of “get x requests for free,” which applies to 90% of current API users. Profit sharing is more complex—could be interesting someday—so we’re starting off with heavy users sharing the cost.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnka9it/?context=3

Question

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnk426n/

Are there any specific plans from Reddit on how to handle moderators who need access to NSFW content for moderation purposes, potentially sitewide for more coordinated actors?

Reply by spez

We’re re-enabling pushshift for mod use cases in the next week or so. We’ve got a number of relevant mod tool improvements shipping soon: an improved mod queue this month, and mod log and mod mail coming thereafter. Mis-labeling communities as NSFW (or not) is a violation of our policies.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnkbkyl/?context=3

Question

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnk2fh0/ (long)

Reply

A: We are working with RedReader and Dystopia to make sure they have access and will continue to work with others. We’ll review requests to ensure that the app is non-commercial and focused on accessibility needs. Approved apps can use the Data API for free.
For our own apps, there is no excuse. We will do better.

After Edit (see here):

We are working with RedReader and Dystopia to make sure they have access and will continue to work with others. We’ll review requests to ensure that the app is non-commercial and focused on accessibility needs. Approved apps can use the Data API for free.
For our own apps, there is no excuse. We will do better.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnkccq7/?context=3

Question

How do you address the concerns of users who feel that Reddit has become increasingly profit-driven and less focused on community engagement?

Reply by spez

We’ll continue to be profit-driven until profits arrive. Unlike some of the 3P apps, we are not profitable.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnkd09c/?context=3

Question

Please, reply to developers who contact you. (long)

Reply by spez

Apologies for the delay. We are responding now.
If others have apps they would like to be considered for the paid API tier, please reach out here and select “This is a partnership request.”

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnkd694/?context=3

Question

Just a little suggestion, If you're really sorry, could you please update your comment https://old.reddit.com/redditdev/comments/13wsiks/api_update_enterprise_level_tier_for_large_scale/jmolrhn/ considering other people maybe will no read this?

Reply by FlyingLaserTurtle

Done.

https://old.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnkg8re/?context=3

Question

Was the community reaction not foreseeable to Reddit Inc? (cont)

Reply by Go_JasonWaterfalls

Over the years, we've had the privilege to receive mod input on products, programs, and initiatives that we’ve rolled out. That won't change. There will be cases when our decisions don’t fully align with all of the feedback we receive and often the feedback we receive isn’t unanimous. But we won’t stop seeking out your input. It does matter, it does change things, and we do respect and value it.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnkgh46/?context=3

Question

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnkhdk8/?context=3 (long)

Reply by spez

We can always do more, and better and faster, but we shared the progress we made over the past 24 months in a few posts (see here, here, and here). That list includes but is not limited to the following features: Mod Notes, User Mod Log, Mobile Removal Reasons, Mod Queue sort improvements, increased the number of removal reasons, Increased the subreddit emoji limit, Technical improvements to how automoderator functions, Improved the functionality of Modmail rate limits, Increased the Ban Notes character limit, Launched Subreddit 2 Subreddit Modmail, Adding removal reasons and content snapshots for content removed by Reddit, Text availability on all post types, Adding visibility into NSFW tagging, abuse removals, and appeals & approvals, Creation of the u/ModSupportBot, Remove as subreddit, Mod Notes & User Mod Log in Modmail, Mod Queue improvements (on desktop), Show Previous Mod Actions, Safety teams started testing a new ban evasion tool, We launched our new Mod Education site, Community Team made updates to our Top Mod Removal process, Automoderator was upgraded to include Subreddit karma, we updated the discoverability settings for subreddits within Community Settings, and Mod Insights. We also shared the set of enhancements coming in the next few months here.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnkhdk8/?context=3

Question

As a mod of a top 1% sub on Reddit we haven't received any contact from you or the admin team like you claimed. I'm sure you've probably talked with the group of legacy power mods that mod the biggest subs. But for us subs not in the bracket but still quite large with a fair bit of daily volume will there be any reaching out to our teams? Or do we have to do all the leg work to get the info and access to things like pushshift by ourselves?

Reply by Go_JasonWaterfalls

We have programs in place to support our largest communities and are working on ways to expand these to more communities. Additionally, we’re planning more events to meet and connect with moderators as well. To re-enable PushShift, it should be a straightforward process to fill out a short form so we can verify mod status so they can re-enable access.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnkhpfq/?context=3

Question

Why do you devote staff resources to initiatives such as the Mod Council and the Partnership Communities, without utilizing them ahead of time for feedback on wide-scale and potentially devastating changes such as this one? Where do you personally see the ROI?

Reply by Go_JasonWaterfalls

See response here.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnkiite/?context=3

Question

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnk29vb/ (long)

Reply by Go_JasonWaterfalls

First, thank you for all the years of dedication to Reddit. You’re amazing. We will continue to provide support to mods and are, in many cases, expanding our support via community events, partnerships, and enrichment. First off, we will continue to provide support for AMAs. Mod Council, Community Funds, Partner Communities, and community events (like the Mod Summit) will continue to be a core part of the community experience. Some examples:

• We are casting a wider net with Community Funds to support more project-types and countries
• Mod Summit is expanding to become global in scope with 5000+ moderators, and will include a fully virtual event platform, with investments in accessibility, multiple languages and covering multiple time zones. (You heard it here first: the first Mod Summit of the year is scheduled for November 4, 2023)
• Partner Communities just launched a few months ago, and continues to become available to more subreddits and expand its offerings.
• We are launching smaller, more intimate events that bring mods together to cover important topics in just a few months.

We are invested in rewarding and enriching your experience as a mod, and that will continue to be a core part of what we do.

https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnkjnh4/?context=3

Finish

Apparently, we're done.

The AMA’s done.
I can’t see anything in Reddit’s AMA with CEO Steve Huffman about the API changes to indicate that it’s over, but Reddit spokesperson Tim Rathschmidt tells me that it’s done.

https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/8/23754780/reddit-api-updates-changes-news-announcements

Reddit has long had a major communication issue with its userbase, and I think that contributes a lot to the general distrust and frustration with Reddit from users and mods alike. Communications are disjointed, inconsistent, not followed up on, and, unfortunately, often misleading, or down right untrue. This all combines into.. well.. /gestures around vaguely. TLDR at the end if you want to skip this wall of text.

How this all started

On April 18th a post was made highlighting some of the upcoming changes to Reddit's API, most importantly (in my opinion, the only one that matters in this story) these two bullet points

• We are introducing a premium access point for third parties who require additional capabilities, higher usage limits, and broader usage rights. Our Data API will still be open for appropriate use cases and accessible via our Developer Platform.
  
• Reddit will limit access to mature content via our Data API as part of an ongoing effort to provide guardrails to how sexually explicit content and communities on Reddit are discovered and viewed. (Note: This change should not impact any current moderator bots or extensions.)
  

These aren't overly clear, and are missing a TON of very relevant details. What is an "appropriate use case"? What about third party apps to view Reddit? What are the rate limits? Why on earth is "mature" content being limited? How can it be limited but "not impact current moderation bots"?
Despite all these questions, the post states that they will become "Effective June 19, 2023". Okay, so we've got some time to sort out the details.. I guess we'll work towards that and figure out whats going on.
The developer of the popoular Reddit iOS viewer Apollo asks how this impacts him and posts an update with information on a couple phone calls he had with Reddit admins. The calls boil down to Reddit claiming the API is expensive to run and does have an opportunity cost of not having ads served, they want to cover costs while still keeping third party apps around. Reddit also states that they "don't want it to be prohibitively expensive". They also add more confusion around NSFW content and said they'd provide another update about it later.
At this point we really still don't have a LOT of information. No ideas on the costs, no idea why or what NSFW content wouldn't be accessible, no idea if additional API's like polls would be available if you pay etc etc.
All of this is ironically on the backdrop of literally the day prior the Apollo dev saying that they've had recent calls with Reddit and they had no plans to touch the API negatively and realized that screwing apps over is a loss for everyone.. Womp womp..
We are at the very initial onset of this and we can already see communications issues. Basically Reddit has come out and said "hey you have to pay for third party applications, but we aren't telling you how much, and you don't have access to "mature" content but we can't tell you what that is or how we are enforcing it". Yikes... Not off to a great start.
At this point, things go quiet, real quiet... Eerily quiet... I'm guessing most people are assuming talks with developers are going on behind the scenes, and we still have plenty of time right? No need to panic just yet.

May 1st : It begins... for real

A quiet, otherwise peaceful Monday morning, May 1st, erupts into chaos a little after 1 PM central time (it's in the middle, best time zone, gtfo). A new post to /modnews is made stating that Pushshift has had their access revoked.
I'm not gonna dive a ton into what pushshift is, it's merits, it's issues, frankly I don't care. It's not important to the discussion because it had been previously allowed to exist with no issues, it's untimely demise was a direct result of these new API changes being made.
The TLDR from the admins

Pushshift is in violation of our Data API Terms and has been unresponsive despite multiple outreach attempts on multiple platforms, and has not addressed their violations.

It's not clear from this what the violation was, or which set of terms it violated, the old ones or the new ones? If it was the old ones, why now? It's not June 15th, so what the hell is going on here?
The post goes on and says

As we begin to enforce our terms, we have engaged in conversations with third parties accessing our Data API and violating our terms. While most have been responsive, Pushshift continues to be in violation of our terms and has not responded to our multiple outreach attempts.

Sooo that very much sounds like they are saying Pushshift is in violation of the new terms, and despite it not being June 15th, the admins have decided to yoink their access.. That's... classy...
Well apparently Pushshift wasn't responding to them, but honestly 2 weeks isn't all that much time and I'm not sure Reddit really wants to be held to that same standard they are applying to others judging by prior response times to issues...
To me, this really just reads like a good excuse to kill the service that they didn't want around and use this as a flimsy excuse.
This post is getting long and I want to hit on some more critical points, but the overall impression in mod discussion with admins at this point was that admins really had no idea what the use cases were for pushshift and what tools relied on it etc. Evidenced by the scramble to now bring it back "for mods only" whatever that means.
As you can imagine, this doesn't exactly go over well, and is the second failure in communication. Details should have been provided on which terms were violated, why it was critical to turn off the service right now when it had been running for so long and nothing new had seemingly changed.
In various chats with admins, the community admin team cannot answer basic questions about why Pushshift was suddenly banned, if they had access again after it was made clear it was needed for mods and they had started communicating, or really, any useful information about the situation.
And things go silent again.
In a Partner Communities chat with the admins I asked for an update and said it was really weird that nothing had been told to us in weeks. I was told they had provided updates and after some back and forth, apparently "updates" according to the admins are some new comments in old threads with tiny bits of new details.
This is the third communication failure. Comments in old threads are not seen. I cannot really believe I have to say this, but that doesn't count as an update! No one will see that except specifically who you responded to, and some stragglers that are refreshing old threads for some reason!

May 31st : Category 4 Shitstorm

Where to even start here... Well lets just link up the posts.. Modnews announcement, Redditdev announcement, Apollo statement.
Highlights:

• Rate limit changes from PER USER rate of 60 requests per minute, to PER APPLICATION of 100 per minute
• Pushshift coming back for mods only
• Repeat, but slight clarification that "sexually explicit" content would be limited for third party apps to only moderator users
• Pricing is $.24 per 1000 API calls
• Pushed back to July 1st

A couple things to highlight off the bat, we are now 1 month out from the changes being "live" (15 days from the originally stated date, but it was moved back to July 1st) and pricing has just now been released. Now, to be fair, it does sound like these numbers were discussed with developers privately prior to this announcement, but still.. come on now. And we still have no reasoning for, nor details on this whole "sexually explicit" content shenanigans. I personally love how apparently the laws and regulations that they are so concerned about seem to magically not matter if you are a mod apparently?
Where I really want to dive into is the RedditDev post.. This is where things are just... bad... like really bad...
First issue:

For context on excessive usage, here is a chart showing the average monthly overage, compared to the longstanding rate limit in our developer documentation of 60 queries per minute (86,400 per day):
Top 10 3P apps usage over rate limits

So... The "longstanding rate limit" is actually per client per user.. So aggregating them to a client level and claiming they are 400,000% over the limit is a lie. There are no two ways about it. That is a bald faced lie. Rate limits had always been by user + client. The chart shows them as just client.
Now that's unfortunately not the only complete lie told by the admins in this thread.
Here we see

Having developers ask this question of themselves is the main point of having a cost associated with access in the first place. How might your app be more efficient? Google & Amazon don’t tell us how to be more efficient. It’s up to us as users of these services to optimize our usage to meet our budget.

Well, uhh.. Google and Amazon absolutely tell you how to be more effecient and help you in your use of their services.. Also, I'll get into this later, Reddit isn't providing any sort of tooling to SEE your usage stats etc, so how on earth are you even supposed to know unless you build out all your own logging framework... That's insanity..
This comment

We are comparing events / user / day across apps with comparable engagement. Apollo is higher than the norm and higher than us.

Is more misleading than a straight up lie.. Reddit's official app uses less oauth api requests than Apollo, because Reddit's official app uses their GQL API that they haven't made available to third parties in my understanding. The total number of calls made by Reddit's official app vs RiF (I didn't get an iOS emulator set up to capture traffic, sue me), is staggeringly higher on the official app. Not only that but the official app requests the exact same data from both the OAuth API and the GQL api. As well as not properly caching some fairly static data and re-requesting it over and over as well (with a no-cache header so it actually did hit the server each time, nice).
I have a bit of a write up here on API calls and why Reddit is rather ineffecient and API calls add up in a hurry.
I'd call lies, misleading statements, and still no further clarifications on the "sexually explicit" content a massive failure in communication.

Napkin Math

Lets apply Reddit's pricing to themselves to see if it's actually reasonable.
According to this, in 2021 Reddit had 52 million users that use the site daily. Say that they make the ~100 calls per user per day that RiF is claimed to use and is held up as a "good" app by Reddit (lol). That means we have 52 million * 100 requests (per day), or 5.2 billion API requests per day. At $.24 per 1000 requests, this means it allegedly costs Reddit ( (5.2 billion / 1000) * $.24 ) $1,248,000 PER DAY, or $455,520,000 per year. Guess what their revenue was in 2021? $350 million dollars... Wait.. what if I reverse that..
$350 million in revenue... Means 1,458,333,333,333 (1.458 trillion) API requests per year / 365 ~ 4 billion requests per day / 100 per user = 40 million active users per day.
I think I know what they did to get the price... They literally took their revenue, lopped off some amount of daily active users to account for the current un-monetized users by third party, ad blockers etc I'm guessing, and assumed they'd each make 100 API requests and boom, you've got ~ $.24 per 1k requests.
That sounds kind of reasonable on the surface, but that's assume every third party user is actually a monetizable user. It's ignoring the free development work that they are getting. It doesn't account for other sources of revenue like gold, coins, the NFT bullshit etc which are largely independant of the third party apps. And it's assuming a 100% conversion of third party users to first party. None of those are good assumptions!

TLDR

Reddit failed to communicate every step of the way with this API update. From a complete lack of a vision, full picture, or details around most of the API changes at initial announcement, to sudden cut off of a critical mod tool, to late pricing releases with straight up lies in the details.
I haven't even TOUCHED on the whole accusations of Apollo "threatening" reddit, that's another can of worms and another failure of communication and trust.
Reddit does not have the current infrastructure set up to actually be like an actual tech company to see your API usage that you are going to have to pay for as an app developer.
We still don't have details for a good chunk of changes involving "sexually explicit content".
The pricing is unrealistic.
The admins have failed reddit.
Any hope of recovery (in my very important opinion, this is my post after all), Reddit must indefinitely post pone the API changes until they are honest about their intentions. If you want to kill third party apps, say it. I won't agree with you, but you would be honest and I could understand. If you don't want to kill third party apps, get reasonable, because Reddit is currently far from it between the pricing and the extremely vague and bullshit smelling reasons given for sexually explicit content.
Appologies must be pubicly made for the misleading statements and outright lies that have been made.
NONE of these things should happen under the "requirements" of no blackout occuring. These are things Reddit MUST do to start regaining user's trust and there is no trust there to leverage to try to get subreddits not to blackout before you do these things... You've spent all that trust over the years with repeated communications failures.
Will spez commit to any of this?

As per usual, here are a few quick hits to get us started:

• The Pitcher List player pages are an amazing tool. For starting pitchers, you see their rank on The List AND you can check their game logs for the SP Round-up notes for those games. It's the first resource I go to when researching SPs. Our hitter pages are cool too, as we have Statcast data that we improve upon using additional data points (like batted ball direction when calculating expected stats).
• Go ahead and entertain the idea of cutting Owen Miller, Akil Baddoo, Amed Rosario, Brett Baty, Anthony Volpe, DJ LeMahieu, Casey Schmitt, Cal Raleigh, Yoan Moncada, Jarred Kelenic, and Javier Baez if you haven't already in 10-12 team redraft leagues to pick up someone more exciting. While most of these guys have upside, you can't wait forever. Miller, Schmitt, Moncada, Baddoo, and Baez are probably the first to chop if you have more than one of these players.
• Elly De La Cruz came up much earlier than I expected due to the injuries to Nick Senzel and TJ Friedl. Senzel may return as early as June 16, and TJ Friedl could return this weekend. The combination of both returning will be when the Reds have to make some tough playing time decisions. It'd be hard to send down Cruz if he's paying well, but there's only so much flexibility on this roster. You don't need to do anything about this right now—just be ready for a playing time shakeup within the next week or two.
• With that in mind, I still don't expect Christian Encarnacion-Strand to appear any time soon unless more injuries hit the Reds. It's a really crowded infield.
• Adam Duvall is being activated today and is worth plugging into lineups. Keep in mind that he's always been a streaky hitter and a player with durability issues, which caps his upside.
• Jo Adell is back, but he'll be back in triple-A whenever Renfroe comes off the Paternity List
• Joey Wiemer has been steadily improving his strikeout rate lately, helping him unlock more of his power. I'm interested in him as an OF4 or so unless the strikeout rate jumps back over 30%. Power and speed are great, but cratering your ratios isn't. He's more valuable in weekly H2H leagues where ratios aren't quite so important (as they are extremely fluky from week to week).
• Vinnie Pasquantino's reasonable power ceiling might just be 20-22 home runs, which is tough to swallow on such a horrible offense. I love the plate skills, but he needs a better home park or a better supporting cast to unlock his upside.
• Nolan Jones could be a very exciting player with tons of power, but that tendency to swing and miss could get really brutal on this coming road trip.
• It was an ugly week for Willi Castro, who continues to strike out at an incredibly high rate. Give him another week if you want, especially if you need the speed, but don't wait too long if he continues to slump.

​
You can, of course, find all of our stuff here: https://www.pitcherlist.com/

With the news that development of Adventure Mode for the Steam release is progressing along, I figure some people may want to download the original version to give it a try ahead of the graphics update. As someone with hundreds of hours in adventure mode (there are literally dozens of us!) I thought I would share some of the biggest tips and tricks I've learned. I'll probably be making this into a video once the official release is out and I can get footage with graphics, but until then I'm posting the script I have now here. The rest of this post contains spoilers for every phase of adventure mode, so turn back now if you want to discover all of this for yourself!
Beginner

1. Always have food

-Large stacks of vegetables can be found in containers in human towns. Meat can be gathered from butchered animals. Meat from sentient creatures can’t be eaten.

2. Always have wateale 

-Adventurers need to drink 3-4 times a day. Water skin only holds 3 water, so it is useless. Bags hold 40 and Backpacks hold 100 which is too heavy for most adventurers. Quivers hold 20, which is the perfect amount. Fill quivers with water at rivers or wells.

3. Equip armor 

-Armor and weapons can be found in the barracks of each town. Try to get iron or steel if possible. Make sure to cover the head, neck, torso, legs, hands, and feet.

4. Get a mount 

-Mounts increase overworld speed which increases the amount of ground that can be covered in one day. This reduces how frequently you need to stop for supplies.

5. Get some pets 

-Companions can be tricky to recruit in the beginning, but pets are a great way to increase survivability. Unlike companions, you can also recruit a very high number of pets immediately. Everything labeled “stray” found within a town can become a pet, from ducks to dogs, and rarely even bears and elephants. Just don’t get too attached, most pets die very fast, or permanently run away after combat. Especially the small ones.

6. Make sure your character can read and swim 

-Most skills can be acquired organically by actions which your adventurer does, but certain skills like reading are never unlocked. Because you need to read slabs or books to learn magic, putting a point in reading at character creation is mandatory. A few points in swimming are also recommended. Even a single tile full of water is enough to drown an adventurer with no swimming skill.

7. Make a young world for less necromancers and more Megabeasts, and an old world for vice-versa 

-World parameters matter. Evil is slightly stronger on average, which means the older a world is, the more likely it is to be infested with Necromancer towers and Goblin Pits. Savagery is just the number of animal people to play as, and beasts is the number of beasts to fight. You want both of these as high as possible, the difficulty is actually easier with more beasts, as you won’t have to travel as far for missions.

8. Don’t be afraid to run if you can’t win 

-Although this is technically a turn based RPG, running away isn’t a button you press, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t an option. If you are heavily outnumbered or facing a very strong enemy, don’t be afraid to sprint away and reengage when it is more advantageous to do so. This is better than dying and losing your progress.

9. Don’t swim until you’ve really trained 

-While it may be tempting to take a quick dip in the river, death can be moments away in any body of water. Even at competent and above levels of swimming, your character can only go about 10-20 squares before getting tired, and swimming while tired has a chance to keep your character in the same tile, further increasing their fatigue. This can mean your character drowning even just one square from the shore if you are extremely unlucky.

10. Aim for the neck/head for instant kills 

-Aiming in combat can be extremely beneficial. Lots of minor enemies such as kobolds and bandits can be killed with one solid hit to the neck or head. Using this tactic can make encounters against large groups of enemies much easier.
Intermediate

11. Fast travel to long rest 

-If you are damaged in battle and bleeding out, even if you are faint with mortal wounds, fast traveling via the world map will instantly heal your wounds. This may be considered a bug, but since adventurers cannot currently be healed at hospitals via adventure mode, this is the only way to actually heal. Furthermore, since you can’t fast travel during combat, and because fast traveling doesn’t remove major injuries such as missing limbs, I’d say it’s a pretty balanced feature.

12. Jog whenever possible 

-Whenever not mounted and not in combat, you should set your speed to jog. This will increase your endurance stat naturally over time, increasing your combat prowess while you move around. Just be sure to reset your speed whenever your character drops to the ground from exhaustion to give them a chance to rest. Keep extra water on hand while doing this, as your character will need to drink more. And make sure not to jog into combat, this will increase your character’s chance of becoming exhausted during combat, which severely lowers stats.

13. Create a character that just wants to perform 

-A focused character will always be more proficient in combat, receiving a boost to stats such as accuracy and damage. Fully customizing needs in character creation can make a character that is very easy to keep focused. You can completely remove needs in character creation if you wish, but this will also remove the chance to receive the focused buff. If anything, just be sure to avoid needs that are currently impossible in adventure mode such as “Make romance.”

14. Create a world with legendary metals for better loot 

-The more metals you choose at world generation, the better the loot will be everywhere. This setting can make gearing up in the early game either extremely trivial, or extremely challenging. World age can also affect possible loot, as extremely young worlds will not have created enough armor to make most encounters have meaningful loot.

15. Tell stories of your notable kills 

-Information in dwarf fortress is passed via a rumor system. No matter how many dragons you may slay, when you enter a new town, no one will care because they don’t know who you are. Every time you reach a new town, you should tell the largest group of people you can the stories of every notable encounter you’ve had. Early on you should tell stories of killing bandits, while later on you should focus on just semi-Megabeasts and Megabeasts.

16. Recruit other party members 

-While animal companions are good choices for meat shields early game, you should recruit as many fighters at barracks to adventure with you as possible. The amount of companions you can have at any one time is limited by your current reputation level, which is why it is important to tell everyone you can of your notable kills. Animal companions take up companion slots even though they go over the max cap, so try to transition from lots of animals early on to a small party of adventuring companions in the midgame, and a large number of companions in the endgame. Just be sure to let your companions win some easy battles on their own to level up their skills, otherwise they will die just as easily as animals in fights against Megabeasts. Don’t be surprised if some of your companions get terrified in combat and run away just like animals. If you can, be sure to find them, as they will take up a companion slot if you don’t part ways with them or watch them die. If they die and you don’t see it, they may permanently take up a slot this way. This is a bug and will hopefully be fixed eventually, but be wary of it for now.

17. Become a hearthperson 

-Starting a new character and trying to find quests can be very challenging. Lots of random characters will have various rumors, but won’t know enough details to send you on a proper quest. Lords and ladies however can make you into a hearthperson, and can then give you proper quests. They will only do this if you have enough reputation level though, which is why telling stories is important. Usually it takes a story of a bandit leader kill or higher to get a lord or lady to recruit you. You can bypass this stage and get to quests right away by choosing to start as a hearthperson. Just beware that quests are randomized, and sometimes your first quest will be to kill a megabeast. When this happens, I recommend traveling to another town and becoming hearthperson there.

18. Train your skills early 

-Training skills via active combat can be very deadly. If possible, try to fight large, easy enemies to train all related combat skills as early as possible. If you find a horse for example, you can attack its legs to immobilize it, then spam nonlethal strikes to train your weapon skill. A couple horses with no legs is a brutal but safe way to train up weapons all the way to legendary.

19. Set combat preferences to facilitate training 

-Skills like observation and stats like endurance are very important for late game combat. These skills in particular can be trained incredibly fast with combat preferences. If you set melee combat preferences to close quarters, this will prefer to grapple the enemy over and over again. This means you can move into the enemy repeatedly to quickly train without navigating menus. Doing this without changing preferences can mean your character automatically makes a headshot and kills the enemy before you get the chance to properly level up stats. Just be sure to move away from your legless horses if you get tired, as the lowered stats means that even low risk combat can result in injury.

20. Sneak up to enemies for stealth kills 

-If you want to dispatch of large camps quickly and efficiently, chaining stealth kills can be an easy way to do this. Just press S to toggle sneaking, then try to approach enemies without walking into their cone of vision. Doing this at night can be especially effective, as enemies have greatly reduced perception.
Advanced

21. Get a slashing, piercing, and blunt weapon 

-Some enemies in dwarf fortress are much easier to kill than others. Kobolds and crundles will crumple against most weapons, while things like bronze collosi are much harder to deal with. A good rule of thumb is to keep a slashing, piercing, and blunt weapon on hands at all times. Use slashing against basic targets and undead for quick decapitations, piercing against large organic creatures like giant cheetahs or rocs so that they give into pain (essentially stunlocking them), and blunt against inorganic enemies to crush them (collosi, armored titans, iron men, etc). When in doubt, keep a whip on hand to one shot most enemies. A legendary lasher with a named masterwork whip can easily one shot most things in the game with a heavy attack to the head. This should be considered a bug that will probably be fixed later, but is very fun if you want to RP as a legendary vampire killer. Regardless of weapon choice, weapon skill is equally important. A novice hammer dwarf with a steel war hammer is just as useless against a bronze colossus as a legendary axedwarf with an artifact copper battle axe.

22. Remove your backpack when starting combat 

-Fighting while overencumbered is a death sentence. While fighting above default speed does not reduce the number of frames it takes to swing your weapon, fighting below default speed will add a delay after each swing before you can act again, giving enemies free strikes against you. This is also why fighting prone is ill-advised. However, this mechanic should not dissuade you from overencumbering yourself. Most mounts negate a large (if not all) amount of encumberance. In addition, your character can move anything they can grab, even if it is the entire corpse of a megabeast which weighs multiple tons, it will just take them more frames to haul these items. So long as you store all of your loot in the same backpack, you are always safe from ambushes no matter your encumbrance, as you can remove and drop your backpack as soon as combat starts, which usually takes less frames than it takes for any enemy to move. After combat, your backpack should be where you left it, and you can easily retrieve your haul.

23. Aim for the legs first, then the hands, then the neck 

Aiming for the neck can make weaker enemies trivial, but more proficient enemies will not allow this tactic, and very large enemies will have necks too large to decapitate. An advanced tactic that works against most strong enemies is to aim for the legs first to knock your enemy prone (or wings against flying enemies). Once your enemy is on the ground, their speed is halved, essentially giving you twice as many turns to attack. It is at this point you should aim for their arms, as these hold weapons for humanoids and usually have claws for beasts. Once the legs are taken out and the usage of weapons is disabled, you are much more likely to land a headshot, and in a much safer position to repeatedly spam this attack.

24. Bleed out megabeasts, cut off hydra heads, pummel collosi 

Certain enemies such as Megabeasts are much harder to kill. These should be considered boss fights, and thus have certain kill parameters. Bronze collosi in particular usually need to have every single body part destroyed in order to be killed. Hydras in turn need to have the brain of each head destroyed to die, and will almost always live if one head is alive. Hill titans can vary from nigh unkillable (humanoids made of steel) to killable via literally any damaging attack (blobs made of water), so reading their description is extremely important in dealing with them.

25. Never get hit (level dodge and block) 

-Because major injuries are unhealable, these accumulate over time. This means that the best way to play adventure mode is to never get hit. This may seem like a tall task, but almost all damage is avoidable via dodge and block. If you have a high observation stat, you will be able to dodge or block attacks. While this may automatically succeed against weaker enemies, it has a chance to fail against stronger enemies if not properly leveled, so be sure to train these skills early on. Fighting when focused and not exhausted should ensure that these avoidance abilities work properly. Just don’t try to block an attack you wouldn’t block in real life.

26. Don’t let enemies get a surround 

-Fighting against multiple enemies can be a likely death scenario. If enemies completely surround you, then your character has a greatly reduced chance of automatically dodging or blocking attacks. In addition, moving through an occupied tile in dwarf fortress will roll a die, and the losers will be forced prone, as only one creature can stand in a tile at once. Make sure to set speed to scramble in combat if this happens, get to an unoccupied square, and stand up as quickly as possible. Dodging into an open space in this scenario is a much better option than moving manually if at all possible. This entire scenario can be avoided if you slowly dodge in the same direction as enemies approach you in combat, ensuring that you only fight one at a time, and force the others to tire themselves as they run after you. Striking the legs of as many targets as possible is effective here, as it drastically increases the time it takes for each enemy to reach you.

27. Throw stones to level archery 

-Archery can be very cumbersome to use, as most bolts are too heavy to use without causing constant encumbrance, and training it is very slow and painful, as arrows usually split into stacks of one when fired. However, there is a way to level archery extremely quickly. By throwing something at the same tile you are on, you level your archery skill. You can then pick up the thrown object and throw it again. This is much faster than using arrows. One of the best objects to do this with is coins. As it turns out, coins are actually the best ranged weapon. Coins can be used in combat to great affect. Because dwarf fortress uses the archery stat when throwing items, it calculates the damage of thrown items as if shot from a bow with the same archery proficiency. While this does not do nearly as much damage as bolts themselves, it effectively gives adventurers a way to reliably use ranged weapons without worrying about retrieving ammo, as money can usually be found in multiple stacks of 100 at bandit camps.

28. Use archery against webs/fire 

-While archery is a niche weapon type for most scenarios, it is mandatory against certain titans and most dragons, as well as giant cave spiders. Titans, like spiders can possess the ability to web your adventurer. This stunlocks your character, making any shot a guaranteed hit. Against large enough titans, getting hit with a single shot of web is enough for instant death, as they will squish your head while webbed. Other titans may possess deadly dust or poisonous gas. While some of these effects are benign, breathing others can and will kill your character, and to my knowledge not even fast travel stops this. Fighting fire breathing dragons is an instant kill scenario as well, as they can melt your armor into molten liquid metal, stunlocking your character until they die from the heat. You can attempt to repeatedly jump until you reach a river, but you are certainly dead at this point. The use of archery (or rather, throwing coins) is mandatory at this point. While a few shots may not do anything at first, repeated shots will accumulate damage, and eventually kill or disable the enemy. Just be very careful getting into melee range to finish enemies off after this occurs, as one unlucky web or fire shot can and will still kill you. Avoid looting titans with dust or gas effects until after you leave and return to the area with fast travel to be sure that the gas dissipates.

29. Know the game progression (Kobolds, Bandits, Hearthperson, Semi-Megabeasts, Towers, Megabeasts, Dark Fortresses, Caverns) 

Knowing what you’re doing at any given point can be the difference between life and death. If you’re playing adventure mode without savescumming (which is the only way to play it in the old versions), then you will be making new characters a lot. Knowing the basic progression of where you should go on new characters will make the ultimate goal of raiding the vault and fighting the angel that much easier. Your basic path should be gearing up in towns, training basic combat skills against animals, fighting kobold and bandit camps to level reputation, telling stories to become a hearthperson, doing quests as a hearthperson to further reputation level and combat skills, fighting semimega and Megabeasts to become a legendary hero, raiding towers to find the secrets, raiding dark fortresses to find the vault and slay the angel, and finally using the secrets to delve into the caverns without having to eat or sleep and fighting forgotten beasts there until your character dies. The surface and visiting towns should be considered the early game, raiding sites should be considered the midgame, killing the angel in the vault should be considered the endgame, and roaming the caverns should be considered the postgame. Of course, adventure mode has lots more to offer than just combat, and if you want to learn its ins and outs for yourself, the only way to do that is to jump in and play it.

We have an old R-22 system that needs to be replaced after a failed compressor. It's 17 years old and we have prepared for the investment. But I still want to make good choices, even though I really don't know much about HVAC units.
We are in southern Ohio and have nothing really special about the house (50's era MCM ranch,) other than I don't want anything TOO loud because the outside unit sits near a bedroom window. Here are the choices we are currently looking at after eliminating some choices I wasn't thrilled with. I'm not TOO concerned about the prices, but want to at least make sure we aren't paying top-of-the-line prices for low-end equipment. I'm definitely considering longer term savings, since this is our forever home.
When looking at the specs online, the model numbers are more extensive than the ones in the quotes. Every quote we've received have agreed on a 3-ton machine, as we were very happy with our old one. Unfortunately, I don't have much more information that what I'll give. But I can ask for clarification from these guys if need be.
​
So here are the choices I am looking at:
Option 1:
Trane XL15i, 15.6 SEER 3 ton + Trane 20kw Heat Package (no more details than that.) Includes 10-yr parts, 1-year labor (plus one year each of labor included up to ten if we subscribe to their service package.) Cost: $12.4K after tax and labor
Option 2:
Trane Run Tru Single, 14.3 SEER 3 ton + Trane 20kw Heat Package. Includes only 10-year "large parts package." $8.8K after tax and labor
Option 3:
RUUD RP1536, 15 SEER 3 ton + RUUD RH1T3617 Heating Unit. Includes 10-year parts/5-year labor. $8.8K after tax and labor
​
I had other offers, but eliminated them for one reason or another. I have a best practice of trying to go with local/smaller companies. SO I understand that the price may be a bit higher sometimes with that philsophy. But I'm okay with that, provided it's not a deal too good to pass up.
So any help/advice/questions/requests for more information are certainly welcome. Thanks in advance!
​
[edit: wanted to add that all three quotes are similar in work. so we are reusing the ductwork, the thermostat, and (at least with the Tranes, the pad.)]