In the UK college generally means the period between 16-18 where you do your final university entrance qualifications (A levels). People also do those at sixth forms but those tend to be attached to secondary schools, whereas colleges are separate institutions. Universities are where you get a degree.
Some universities here have colleges (in the sense that it’s a small community within the university) but it’s not hugely common outside of Oxford and Cambridge.
You also used to have the word ‘college’ attached to schools as a branding thing (to make them seem more academically rigorous) but the ones I know that have had that became academies
things are in fact going extremely badly but we’ll see if they pick up starting tomorrow night for reasons that will preclude me being here for about a week (seeing my SO)
Things are ok more or less. Went with my mum to a secure dog field yesterday so her dog could run, she loved every second of it. Still mentally blah but being able to work from home over the last few days has helped. Did another crochet workshop on the weekend and I think I’m gradually starting to understand the basics.
Got a meeting with one of the exec directors on Thursday which I’m a bit terrified about. Catsitting for my sister over the weekend which will be nice though.
Meta conducted an experiment where thousands of users were shown chronological feeds on Facebook and Instagram for three months. Users of the chronological feeds engaged less with the platforms and were more likely to use competitors like YouTube and TikTok. This suggests that users prefer algorithmically ranked feeds that show...
I think there’s a time and a place for algorithmic feeds. When it comes to Facebook i personally think it makes sense to have a way of filtering the important things first, based on who you interact with. It’s a social network in the definitive sense; we care about some people more than others depending on where in the network they are. However we’ve seen how things go when Facebook use it with pages/news stories (which is really concerning).
For things like Twitter, I want chronological. It’s a real time platform based on sharing information across a larger audience. Its use in breaking news makes timing important. It’s largely gone to shit now because Musk, but in its heyday anyway.
Ideally there should always be a choice, or at least some transparency around how the algorithms work. That way everyone can choose what works for them based on how they use the platform.
I just feel like I’m standing still and not in control of things at the moment. My siblings are taking steps forward in their own ways (having kids, moving abroad) and I’m stuck in a job I’ve had before that I moved back to because of a restructure, so I didn’t choose it. It’s not fulfilling but I’m good at it, but when it’s the only thing I have going on it feels like I should be getting more out of it than I am. Also just feeling isolated as I don’t connect with people in my team and I don’t have a huge social life.
I want to get my own home so can’t really take any huge risks jobwise at the moment. Just feeling stuck.
I am trying to find a good service to read ebooks (preferably for free) but as long as it is a good experience I don’t mind paying. Thanks for your opinion.
While people have made some interesting comments on the downsides of megathreads, I’m glad we have a way of containing the Musk stuff. It gets a bit much.
To people who do have concerns though, if you’re tech minded maybe look at contributing to a way of improving the functionality of Lemmy. It’s in our gift to improve this place so if we can do something about it then we should, rather than passively complain when things aren’t how we want them to be.
After buying a $70 pair of Vans at famous footwear and having them literally fall apart after using them as daily walking shoes, I’ve realized the quality of shoes overall has gone down over the last decade or so....
I love Dr Martens, or Corsair who are actually better quality but the same style. A pair can last me a good few years and they’re incredibly comfortable.
I’ve had this feeling that since there are forces that do not want us to have free speech, and that the destruction of Reddit and Twitter does this effectively, creating a chilling effect, destroying social links and communities. Might it not be an intentional effort to stifle the ability of the downtrodden to organize and...
I think it’s worth remembering that we never really had ‘free speech’ on either website in the first place. Both sites had rules regarding the kind of content you could post (including against hate speech which is a good thing imo). You can see now that Musk has loosened some of the rules it’s made advertisers wary of associating with it. I would go as far as to say that I don’t think true free speech is possible under a capitalist model. As long as there are shareholders or advertisers to appease, there will be restrictions regarding speech (which may or may not be a good thing).
We’ll soon be implementing some changes in our effort to reduce spam in Direct Messages. Unverified accounts will have daily limits on the number of DMs they can send. Subscribe today to send more messages...
Aging gamers were reportedly delighted to see that a new video game called Eldric Quest has accessibility features catered specifically to people their age who do not have enough time to actually play a video game....
Not on your instance but it’s so good to see unequivocal inclusion and support for the trans community. There should be no room for bigotry of any kind.
There aren’t many things that there is a consensus on. LGBTQ+ folk aren’t a monolith anymore than any other group is. As long as you ask from a place of respect you should be fine
Have you ever played a game and wondered what if you could do something that it doesn’t really allow you to do, for example being able to move around blocks in Minecraft fluidly instead of in sectors, edit the world in Hogwarts legacy with spells, be able to fly in a world like Elden Ring or Elder Scrolls with epic sky...
I’m atheist but I like hearing people’s views about religion and belief from the other perspective as well. I find it fascinating how people believe in different things, belief has had a huge impact on the world (for better and worse).
hello Beehaw, it’s a sleepy morning–and i did not get very much sleep. luckily i have no social priorities so this is not a big deal. currently reading a number of books after completely crashing out of doing that for the entire month of June. i think i can get about 3 in before the end of the month, we’ll see
Things are much calmer than last week workwise and I have a couple of days off this week thankfully. Saw the first of a few Edinburgh previews last night which was great (was in a damp side room of a pub so felt like being at the fringe already). Seeing an outdoor Shakespeare play on Friday so hoping it stops raining before then!
The film about a man who regrets his great technological innovation because he failed to consider its ramifications certainly does have some potential parallels....
I find it easier to rewatch something than expend the mental energy on something new, so I rewatch a lot. Buffy, Stargate SG-1 and Taskmaster are the ones I rewatch the most.
Not sure if they have them in the USA but I feel like things like this should be free votes rather than across party lines. It’s a conscience thing more than anything. I personally think by using them you’re just escalating things and it very well could end up causing more harm than good.
Thankfully this summer in the UK hasn’t been as bad as last year. I hate the heat but there’s been lots of rain which is nice. The humidity is what gets to me the most.
The users are having a ‘Crab day’ where everyone gives each other crabs to try and help boost the finances. Will be interesting to see if it has an impact
When I’m singing in a choir, surrounded by other people all singing with one voice. Especially in a large building with great acoustics. That’s what beauty is to me- even when I’ve been at my lowest I’ve always had choral singing keep me going.
Tumblr plans to make changes to appeal to new users and improve growth. The post states that Tumblr is currently difficult for new users to use and curates content poorly. Tumblr aims to improve how users discover and sign up, encourage frequent engagement, and boost creators’ ability to attract audiences. Specific changes...
The main thing I was concerned about is then getting rid of the reverse chronological sorting and they’ve backtracked on that, so hopefully it won’t be completely awful. It did just seem like a weird business memo that the staff were told to put on Tumblr rather than anything user-friendly. Just sounded way too corporate.
I just read Cory Doctorow’s article “Let the Platform Burn”. It reminded me of something I’ve been thinking about for some time. Instead of joining yet another social network and recreating yourself, why not create your personal social network object and link it to others via a federation of the personal social network...
I like the idea and I know that’s how some people are using Lemmy at the moment. I think it would need to be very easy to implement though for it to be truly viable.
I love the name ‘earthlings’! Glad you’re keeping the alienfolk on side just in case
Wholesome Games Celebration (store.steampowered.com)
What's the difference between "College" and "University"?
Until recently I assume they were synonymous 😅, Here you go to Uni immediatly after finishing HS.
how's your week going, Beehaw
things are in fact going extremely badly but we’ll see if they pick up starting tomorrow night for reasons that will preclude me being here for about a week (seeing my SO)
How to Move from Mastodon to Firefish (wedistribute.org)
What's the "Joe Shmoe" of different cultures? Or the "John/Jane Smith"?
Explanations/etymology also appreciated!...
Developer of Reddit is Fun just released an app for Tildes. (tildes.net)
Meta Just Proved People Hate Chronological Feeds (www.wired.com)
Meta conducted an experiment where thousands of users were shown chronological feeds on Facebook and Instagram for three months. Users of the chronological feeds engaged less with the platforms and were more likely to use competitors like YouTube and TikTok. This suggests that users prefer algorithmically ranked feeds that show...
Lemmy users who feel the heaviness of depression, what issue in your life weighs you down the most? (lemm.ee)
What website/app do you use to read ebooks?
I am trying to find a good service to read ebooks (preferably for free) but as long as it is a good experience I don’t mind paying. Thanks for your opinion.
General Megathread for Elon Musk Nonsense and Twitter News
Hey folks -...
Can we please bring back cloaks? (www.pinterest.cl)
They’re so great!...
Shoes that dont wear out and start falling apart after a year?
After buying a $70 pair of Vans at famous footwear and having them literally fall apart after using them as daily walking shoes, I’ve realized the quality of shoes overall has gone down over the last decade or so....
how's your week going, Beehaw
as always, we’re back. how’s your week going folks
RIP Twitter’s iconic bird logo (www.theverge.com)
Anyone else found health screenings more painful as you age?
Not marking this as NSFW because it’s about health, but mods please let me know if you think it should be and I will change it....
Weekly “What are you playing” Thread || Week of July 23rd
A new week and a new thread....
Is the destruction of Twitter and Reddit a conspiracy or am I just paranoid?
I’ve had this feeling that since there are forces that do not want us to have free speech, and that the destruction of Reddit and Twitter does this effectively, creating a chilling effect, destroying social links and communities. Might it not be an intentional effort to stifle the ability of the downtrodden to organize and...
Twitter adding daily limits to DMs for users without Blue (beehaw.org)
We’ll soon be implementing some changes in our effort to reduce spam in Direct Messages. Unverified accounts will have daily limits on the number of DMs they can send. Subscribe today to send more messages...
Game Introduces Easy Mode Called “I’m 35 and Have One Hour to Play This” (hard-drive.net)
Aging gamers were reportedly delighted to see that a new video game called Eldric Quest has accessibility features catered specifically to people their age who do not have enough time to actually play a video game....
The transphobia stops now
This community is housed on an instance run by two trans women, focused on the needs of the queer and gender diverse community....
What type of game do you want to play that doesn't really exist?
Have you ever played a game and wondered what if you could do something that it doesn’t really allow you to do, for example being able to move around blocks in Minecraft fluidly instead of in sectors, edit the world in Hogwarts legacy with spells, be able to fly in a world like Elden Ring or Elder Scrolls with epic sky...
minor PSA: we have a Spirituality community now (beehaw.org)
this was made a few days ago when i was off but nobody announced it, so i guess i’m doing that now. the sidebar describes its purpose as follows:...
how's your week going, Beehaw
hello Beehaw, it’s a sleepy morning–and i did not get very much sleep. luckily i have no social priorities so this is not a big deal. currently reading a number of books after completely crashing out of doing that for the entire month of June. i think i can get about 3 in before the end of the month, we’ll see
What do you use Vaseline for?
I have a tub of Vaseline and have hardly scratched the surface. I’m curious whether anyone uses it for anything other than their lips.
Christopher Nolan wants Oppenheimer to be a cautionary tale for Silicon Valley (www.theverge.com)
The film about a man who regrets his great technological innovation because he failed to consider its ramifications certainly does have some potential parallels....
What's the most toxic game community you know of?
The most toxic communities I know of are the Genshin community, Payday 2, FFXIV and source games communities in general.
GoblinTools - Magical Todo list that breaks itself down to manageable steps (goblin.tools)
A neurodivergent friend sent me a link to this site and I thought it’s worth sharing here for more folks to see....
What series did you rewatch most often?
Movies are great, but now on to the real deal. Honestly? Who has time to rewatch a series??...
Almost 50 Democrats snub Biden with vote against cluster bombs for Ukraine (thehill.com)
Anybody else wishing this summer would just go by quicker?
Obviously this only applies to people in the northern hemisphere, but I guess anybody in the south can just go off their past anecdotes....
Tumblr is losing $30M each year, CEO says (techcrunch.com)
*Permanently deleted*
Permanently deleted
Tumblr says it’s going to “fix” its “core experience” to appeal to new users (www.theverge.com)
Tumblr plans to make changes to appeal to new users and improve growth. The post states that Tumblr is currently difficult for new users to use and curates content poorly. Tumblr aims to improve how users discover and sign up, encourage frequent engagement, and boost creators’ ability to attract audiences. Specific changes...
The Last Social Network: Your Own
I just read Cory Doctorow’s article “Let the Platform Burn”. It reminded me of something I’ve been thinking about for some time. Instead of joining yet another social network and recreating yourself, why not create your personal social network object and link it to others via a federation of the personal social network...