I’ve changed my Tumblr icon to show I support Net Neutrality; it will stay my icon for as long as possible. We need to spread the fact that if we don’t save it by June 11th, it will all end…
SPREAD AWARENESS! CALL YOUR SENATORS! Do whatever it takes! Together, we can safe a free Internet!
hi my name’s gio and i’m 16 years old (going on 17 this august 2nd) i’m nb and latinx and mentally ill and i need your help please. i’m sorry if his feels rushed but i am having a breakdown right now and i relapsed after years of no self harm and i’m trying my best to get the message through. my dad snapped over something very insignificant during dinner because me and my brother got a little pouty because he took some of our food he bought and he spat his food at us and lost his mind while my mother sat there and watched and agreed with him only because she feels obliged to. she hates him we all do he drinks out late at night and cheated on my mom and abuses me the most. he said he’s not going to buy food for me is going to take away my phone and data and tells me i need to start paying for all my phone bills. he’s taking the internet away from me and my sibling and it’s my main coping mechanism my closest friends are through the internet. i need to get out of my house as soon as possible and save up for a car and an apartment but i realize i cannot do this on my own and i still have to do things like build credit and learn to drive and this is so fucking scary please help me. i have a little over a year to get all this money and my job doesn’t pay me enough unless if i work 60 hours a week. i made a cash.me/$smenchy please help me i’ll be willing to draw you something in return if you wanted me to thank you so much
Please help Gio, he’s one of my closest friends. He’s kind, he’s a hard worker, he’s a fantastic artist and he doesn’t deserve any of this. I would give him the entire world if I could. He’s been there for me at my lowest points and I want to do the same for him. He said above he’d be willing to draw something, but I also volunteer to draw art for anyone who donates money to him if he’s unavailable or can’t manage. I can also write fanfiction or original fiction.
He has so much he wants to give the world. He wants to be a chef in Europe, he wants to draw and create, he wants to be happy and to make others happy.
The title says it all really. So if nothing else, please share and reblog this post to raise awareness for those that might be caught out – both artists and followers.
For a TL:DR, please look at the bottom of the post
What is happening?
Right now, there is at least one person actively impersonating multiple artists across tumblr in an effort to scam their followers into paying for fake ‘cheap commissions’.
The scammer will clone a tumblr, usually using a slight change to the url/account name to look like the real deal. They will then message people directly through Tumblr with messages along the lines of “Hey, i’m doing cheap commissions right now. DM me to get one”. Naturally, this is ends up just being a way to take their money without giving anything back in return.
Who does this affect?
Everyone. Simple as that. As long as the scammer in question works unopposed, they are free to spread their influence and continue to scam more people. Even if you haven’t been targeted yet, it does not mean you are safe or immune.
Several artists have already fallen victim to this scammer, and I encourage any artists that have to reblog this post with the details of their affected account(s) and the ones the scammer has set up.
How can we stop this?
Tumblr, like many other social media platforms, seems to care very little about ‘minor’ occurences like this one, and despite reaching out directly to them over a week ago through multiple avenues of contact – they have refused to comment on the situation, provide a recommended response for users, or take action on behalf of those already affected.
Despite this, there are still tools at our disposal that we can use to make this scam more difficult, and to increase its visibility to those within Tumblr staff that are required by policy to take action.
Tumblr has the following to say on the topic of impersonation:
Confusion or Impersonation. Don’t do things that would cause confusion between you or your blog and a person or company, like registering a deliberately confusing URL. Don’t impersonate anyone. While you’re free to ridicule, parody, or marvel at the alien beauty of Benedict Cumberbatch, you can’t pretend to actually be Benedict Cumberbatch.
They then provide a link to this online form that you can fill out if you suspect someone’s identity is being confused. Unfortunately, this can only be filled out if you are the victim of impersonation. In other words, only the artists can fill this out legitimately.
So, what about the followers and users of tumblr whom aren’t being impersonated?
Our most valuable tool in this online platform is the platform itself. It enables us to spread our word near-virally across all the many sub-communities on Tumblr with remarkable efficiency for a user-driven system. We can take advantage of that effect to increase awareness of the situation. Even if you – the one reading this right now – aren’t an artist or don’t know an artist, the act of reblogging this post or sharing it directly with friends improves it’s ‘ranking’ in popularity increasing its chances to be seen by more people.
We don’t need everyone on Tumblr to see the post for it to be effective, just like we don’t need the entirety of the human population of the world to be immune to a disease for that disease to be rendered ineffective or eradicated. If enough people are aware, the likelihood of pulling off a successful scam increases dramatically reducing efficiency to a point that it no longer becomes profitable to continue.
Why should I care?
It disheartens me to say this, but of the many artists I contacted directly over the past week to warn about this issue many of them refused to listen or dodged the responsibility with lines like;
“I’m not being impersonated, so it doesn’t affect me”
“I’m just one person. I can’t make an impact”
“I need to take care of my community. Other people can look after theirs”
This is honestly disappointing that so many artists or art-rebloggers care so little as to intentionally wave the responsibility of keeping their followers and fellow artists safe from this, that they cannot spare 10 seconds of their time to share an informative post.
I’m not here to bash artists, but it is time that everyone takes responsibility for their own communities, and of those around them.
Artists: You have a responsibility to ensure that your followers and fans aren’t being abused by someone who may impersonate you. If they succeed, your reputation will be damaged, and your followers will resent you. Your followers are also almost guaranteed to be following other artists meaning your efforts can spread beyond your own circle of influence, so don’t be naive when you think you have little effect.
Followers: You have just as much responsibility to be aware of those that might try to scam you or your fellow followers. Don’t just sit in silence when you see something wrong: Ignoring the issue only makes it more resilient to our efforts to stop it. You are the vocal majority if you just use your voices to be heard!
TL:DR
A scammer is impersonating artists and scamming money from their followers under the guise of ‘cheap commissions’. If we ignore the issue, it will get worse.
Every single person that reads this can afford to spend just 10 seconds to reblog and share this post. Those 10 seconds can save others from being scammed for hundreds of dollars.
Reblog & Share
I think my followers already know my commission style, as in how I market them and how I run my business. But just in case:
I NEVER outright DM someone to get a cheap commission from me.
I NEVER discuss the terms and conditions of the commission through DM, just through email. I only discuss drawing progresses through DM. Initial contract for commissions will ALWAYS be done through email.
I ALWAYS post my signature “Saera’s Commission” or “#Saera’s Comms” post on my blog to signify I’m currently taking commissions. NEVER through DMs.
Lastly, please please please be aware of the URLs, check the authenticity of the post and always think logically.
Be safe guys! 🙂
All of the above my friends.
As a note: I’m currently in the middle of con prep and won’t be taking commissions for a while nor will I ever DM you directly. Be wary of “artists” sending messages directly guys and be safe.
does anyone have any suggestions on how to prepare to leave my home when im 18
im ftm trans and my parents are very transphobic, emotionally abusive and trump supportive, and im just really sick of living with them.
i have roughly a year and a half until i turn 18 and i really just need some advice on what i should do
please, if you have any information, let me know. thank you
hello friends! sorry for all the reblogs but my bf really needs help! ive seen firsthand how homophobic and transphobic his parents are, and how poorly they treat him. if you have any advice at all, please help him out! i love him a lot and i dont want to see him stuck in a shitty household for a long time ;;;
We put up a good fight…but now we only have 60 days to turn this around. There is still ONE thing we can all do!!!!!
There’s something called the Congressional Review Act (CRA) that can be used to stop the FCC. We just need ONE MORE VOTE to win the Senate!!!
For those who missed my last giant post a few months ago, last year, the FCC voted to repeal the Obama regulations designed to protect a fair and open internet. If these regulations are knocked down, providers like Comcast, AT&T, and Verizonwill have EVERY RIGHT to slow down internet speeds to those who aren’t on their more expensive plans. Even further, they have the power to censor and regulate what we see online. MORE further, they’d even have the power to slow down competitors’ streaming speeds, like Netflix, to make their own services more appealing. THIS SHIT IS NOT RIGHT!!!!!
First thing you can do is to GET OFF YOUR ASS (OR ON IT IF YOU’RE AT A COMPUTER…) and take 20 seconds to sign this!!!! Second thing is to SHARE THIS CAMPAIGN WITH EVERYONE!!!
There’s going to be a huge protest on Feb 27th that I’ll be taking part in. The above link goes into detail on what YOU can do on that day. Please guys. Don’t just sit there and let this happen. THIS IS OUR LAST CHANCE! THIS IS OUR INTERNET!!!! NOW FUCKING DO SOMETHING!!!!
Just voted now! TAKES ONLY 5 SECONDS, SAVE NET NEUTRALITY! Please!
One thing I’ve noticed about this thing is that a lot of people think “oh since this is really important, lots of people will be doing this, so I’m not going to bother.”
PLEASE BOTHER!!!!! MINDSETS LIKE THIS CAN AND WILL STAND IN THE WAY OF WINNING BACK OUR RIGHTS!!!!!!!!
Guys we got a lot going on political wise now but this one is one issue that should have been cut and dry and done.
Call your rep ASAP so they don’t forget to do this. Probably mention this would be the easiest legislation they would ever pass and get done
guys this is happening tomorrow and this looks like once it’s gone it will be a bitch and a half to get back CALL YOUR SENATORS PLEASE
Guys, this is really important. Until now, Google collected your data, but did not attach your name to it. Now, they can, and will. This new thing they’re doing will allow them to collect your data across searches, your email, Youtube, Maps, Google+, and all their affiliates, and build a complete profile of YOU.
If that doesn’t bother you, maybe this will: they own and can sell all that data, including anything you create and send (artists and writers, take note).
There is a way you can opt out of this ridiculousness. It’s described in the link, but if you’re still not sure about it, please ask me and I’ll guide you through how to turn all this off.
This is my wake-up call. I’ll be locking down my devices and scaling back what I put through the big Google machine, which means you may see less of me across social media. I’m going to keep researching this, but it may mean in order to keep the rights to my creative work, I’ll have to keep it out of Google’s hands. And that may take some doing.
Duckduckgo is a nontracking search engine….may be worth a try.
So according to the article there is an opt out for this. Instructions are I the last paragraph. I’m on mobile so I’ll edit this more later. EDITED TO INCLUDE OPT OUT INSTRUCTIONS
To opt-out of Google’s identified tracking, visit the Activity controls on Google’s My Account page, and uncheck the box next to “Include Chrome browsing history and activity from websites and apps that use Google services.“ You can also delete past activity from your account.
And I literally have nowhere to stay. I’m gonna have to find a place to crash since my mercurial roommate decided that it was best that I not stay in that apartment anymore. So as of tonight I am homeless and unable to recieve help. I really hate to do this, but I need help. Please send me a message and if there’s any advice or any kind of financial help possible.
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