Buffistas may now say Goodbye and Good Riddance to 2020 here - [link]

Time and date to the Buffistas Holidays Zoom (with sprogs!) is now in my profile.

ETA: Proposal has been retracted.

There is a proposal being discussed.

Discussion: NOW - 12/11/20 11:25 am EST
Voting: 12/12/20 11:25 am EST

Proposal: A thread for education on, and discussion of, all of the -isms (racism, ableism, sexism, homophobia, etc.) with the goal of being intentional about supporting all of our members and being good citizens in the world at large. This would be a place to ask questions, share educational links, and have difficult discussions (as needed).

Proposer: Glamcookie

Voting discussion starts here.

Reminder: The Buffistas Holidays Zoom will take place today. Details in my profile.

In Bureaucracy, we are discussing closing and archiving the Jossverse thread and using existing threads to talk about projects previously covered by that thread. The current goal is a BS consensus rather than voting, unless there are objections.

Moved to Press since this seems worth sharing widely:

Blast from the past time! Someone on Twitter linked to a book I wanted to check out. I follow the link and lo and behold it's at the same site we used for the Buffista Cookbook. And sure enough, it's still there and still available.

So here it is! You can download for free or get a printed version for about $10. It was a real labour of love and has great recipes and great quotes and Raq's amazing art.

Print version: [link]

ebook: [link]

I totally recognize the irony of posting this on a online network...

A couple folks that used to have actual jobs trying to combat mis- and dis-info have left the government...and noticed how many people in their own social circles were unwittIngly trafficking in misinformation they had worked to help counter. They came to the conclusion that government is unlikely to get this right, so they assembled a little squad and came up with some ideas for other approaches. This led to us starting a Facebook support group for the loved ones of misinformation victims.

We call our group Countering Lies and Misinformation by Advancing Knowledge and Empathy (CLAMBAKE). As far as anyone can tell, there is no cavalry of psychologists and clinical experts riding to the rescue to deprogram everyone. If we are to get past this, we will have the dedicated, skillful effort of the victims’ loved ones to thank for it. They care the most about the problem, are the most motivated to engage, and probably are the most likely to get through to those most in need. It has to be done based on what experts have learned about the human dynamics of misinformation, conspiracy theories, and cults, and it has to be done with compassion.

With the chatter around a disinfo-fueled event on March 4th, CLAMBAKE sees an opportunity to talk with people about the problem.

We know one thing that helps misinformation victims is to maintain and restore real world relationships. The members of our group are going to put down our phones for a few days, and then ask rabbit-holed (and other) friends and relations to do the same. And then, who knows, maybe do a puzzle or something together. We call our idea #SpringCleanse, a collective 72-hour break from all social media and news.

If you know of people who could benefit from either #SpringCleanse or CLAMBAKE, we would really appreciate being connected with them. The Facebook group is free to join, private and confidential, and we do it all with no expectation of personal benefit. We feel we are doing something to heal each other, if not the victims themselves just yet. We have no doubt that the safe space and meaningful community in CLAMBAKE are working; the more people join, the more all will benefit.

#SpringCleanse is March 6-8.

(disclaimer: I'm not in the Facebook group because FB is Evil, and I also didn't name it, but I'm supporting CLAMBAKE in email)

I posted this in Natter a few days ago, but the thread is moving fast and not everyone got the chance to see so I'm posting here as well.

Nilly suggested a Zoom gathering in remembrance of a amyth. Doodle is here: [link]

I will let you know in 24 hours which date is more convenient to most. If someone can post this in the FB group as well, that would be great.

We have a majority decision. Details on when and where we'll meet are in my profile. Thank you all.

Lovely Nilly has sent me her accumulation of birthdays and anniversaries for the Buffistas and their families. It needs a bit of updating, so please send me your special calendar events if you would like me to announce them in Natter so that we can celebrate with you. Nilly has missed keeping the list updated and celebrating with us so very much, but I will try and keep that up for her for the time being.