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Vacuum Fluorescent Displays Explained
After having been sent a vacuum fluorescent display (VFD) based clock for a review, [Anthony Francis-Jones] took the opportunity to explain how these types of displays work.
Although VFDs are generally praised for their very pleasant appearance, they’re also relatively low-power compared to the similar cathode ray tubes. The tungsten wire cathode with its oxide coating produces the electrons whenever the relatively low supply voltage is applied, with a positively charged grid between it and the phosphors on the anode side inducing the accelerating force.
Although a few different digit control configurations exist, all VFDs follow this basic layout. The reason why they’re also called ‘cold cathode’ displays is because the cathode doesn’t heat up nearly as hot as those of a typical vacuum tube, at a mere 650 °C. Since this temperature is confined to the very fine cathode mesh, this is not noticeable outside of the glass envelope.
While LCDs and OLED displays have basically eradicated the VFD market, these phosphor-based displays still readily beat out LCDs when it comes to viewing angles, lack of polarization filter, brightness and low temperature performance, as LC displays become extremely sluggish in cold weather. Perhaps their biggest flaw is the need for a vacuum to work, inside very much breakable glass, as this is usually how VFDs die.
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In una settimana è stato raggiunto un terzo delle firme necessarie.
Firmate, condividete e fate firmare.
È importante, anche per scrollarsi di dosso un po' di questo senso di impotenza che ci sta fiaccando.
Basta una firma apposta via SPID o CieID.
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[2026-01-27] OFPCINA Bolognina @ La Casa del Mondo
OFPCINA Bolognina
La Casa del Mondo - Via di Vincenzo 18A Bologna
(martedì, 27 gennaio 17:30)
Il computer ti ha mollato? L'ingresso audio del tuo amplificatore per chitarra si è spaccato? Quel software così indispensabile per la tua sopravvivenza dà i numeri? Vuoi acquistare un nuovo pc ma hai un budget molto basso? L'aspirapolvere ha smesso di funzionare?
Beh raggiungici a Camere d'Aria e cercheremo di rimediare insieme!
[2026-01-25] Festa di sant'Antonio Abate @ Vigliano Biellese
Festa di sant'Antonio Abate
Vigliano Biellese - In paese
(domenica, 25 gennaio 08:30)
Sfilata di cavalli, carrozze, trattori ...
A 1970s Electronic Game
What happens when a traditional board game company decides to break into electronic gaming? Well, if it were a UK gaming company in 1978, the result would be a Waddingtons 2001 The Game Machine that you can see in the video from [Re:Enthused] below.
The “deluxe console model” had four complete games: a shooting gallery, blackjack, Code Hunter, and Grand Prix. But when you were done having fun, no worries. The machine was also a basic calculator with a very strange keyboard. We couldn’t find an original retail price on these, but we’ve read it probably sold for £20 to £40, which, in 1978, was more than it sounds like today.
Like a board game, there were paper score sheets. The main console had die-cut panels to decorate the very tiny screen (which looks like a very simple vacuum fluorescent display) and provide labels for the buttons. While it isn’t very impressive today, it was quite the thing in 1978.
This would be a fun machine to clone and quite easy, given the current state of the art in most hacker labs. A 3D-printed case, color laser-printed overlays, and just about any processor you have lying around would make this a weekend project.
It is easy to forget how wowed people were by games like this when they were new. Then again, we don’t remember any of those games having a calculator.
As a side note, Waddingtons was most famous for their special production of Monopoly games at the request of MI9 during World War II. The games contained silk maps, money, and other aids to help prisoners of war escape.
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Nic Barker Explains ASCII, Unicode, and UTF-8
Over on YouTube [Nic Barker] gives us: UTF-8, Explained Simply.
If you’re gonna be a hacker eventually you’re gonna have to write software to process and generate text data. And when you deal with text data, in this day and age, there are really only two main things you need to know: 7-bit ASCII and UTF-8. In this video [Nic] explains 7-bit ASCII and Unicode, and then explains UTF-8 and how it relates to Unicode and ASCII. [Nic] goes into detail about some of the clever features of Unicode and UTF-8 such as self-synchronization, single-byte ASCII, multi-byte codepoints, leading bytes, continuation bytes, and grapheme clusters.
[Nic] mentions about UTF-16, but UTF-16 turned out to be a really bad idea. UTF-16 combines all of the disadvantages of UTF-8 with all of the disadvantages of UTF-32. In UTF-16 there are things known as “surrogate pairs”, which means a single Unicode codepoint might require two UTF-16 “characters” to describe it. Also the Byte Order Marks (BOM) introduced with UTF-16 proved to be problematic. Particularly if you cat files together you can end up with stray BOM indicators randomly embedded in your new file. They say that null was a billion dollar mistake, well, UTF-16 was the other billion dollar mistake.
tl;dr: don’t use UTF-16, but do use 7-bit ASCII and UTF-8.
Oh, and as we’re here, and talking about Unicode, did you know that you can support The Unicode Consortium with Unicode Adopt-a-Character? You send money to sponsor a character and they put your name up in lights! Win, win! (We noticed while doing the research for this post that Jeroen Frijters of IKVM fame has sponsored #, a nod to C#.)
If you’re interested in learning more about Unicode check out Understanding And Using Unicode and Building Up Unicode Characters One Bit At A Time.
youtube.com/embed/vpSkBV5vydg?…
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DE-POLITICIZZAZIONE DEL DISAGIO E DELLA SOFFERENZA
TERAPIA COME ADATTAMENTO O TERAPIA COME
COSTRUZIONE DI UNA SOGGETTIVITÀ CRITICA?
[AltraRivista, Dicembre 2025, Numero 3, p. 8: altrapsicologia.it/wp-content/…[/url]
Articolo eccellente... "ecosofico" oserei dire, nel senso di Guattari, che aveva compreso prima di altri che la soggettività non è un fatto individuale o intrapsichico, ma una produzione collettiva e politica, continuamente modellata dai dispositivi economici, tecnici e simbolici del capitalismo, e che quindi la cura non può essere adattamento all’ordine esistente ma pratica di trasformazione del mondo e dei legami che lo producono. Se certi ambienti accademici non avessero snobbato Deleuze, ma soprattutto Guattari, forse avremmo un po' di vantaggio ora sullo spirito del tempo... leggere oggi "Le tre ecologia" (1989) è disarmante, quanto illuminante!
Silica Gel Makes For Better 3D Prints
It’s possible to improve your 3D prints in all kinds of ways. You can tune your printer’s motion, buy better filament, or tinker endlessly with any number of slicer settings. Or, as [Dirt-E-Bikes] explains, you could grab yourself some silica gel.
If you’re unfamiliar with silica gel, it’s that stuff that comes in the “DO NOT EAT” packet when you buy a new pair of shoes. It’s key feature is that it’s hygroscopic—which means it likes to suck up moisture from the atmosphere. When it comes to 3D printing, this is a highly useful property—specifically because it can help keep filament dry. Over time, plastic filament tends to pick up some moisture on its own from the atmosphere, and this tends to interfere with print quality. This can be avoided by storing filament in a sealed or semi-seaeled environment with silica gel. The gel will tend to suck up most of the moisture from the air in the sealed container, helping to keep the filament drier.
[Dirt-E-Bikes] does a great job of explaining how best to integrate silica gel with your filament spools and automatic material changer (if you have one). He also explains the value of color changing silica gel which indicates when the material is saturated with water, as well as how to dry it out for reuse. You can even combine some of the color changing beads with the more common plain white beads recycled from your shoe boxes, since you only need a few colored beads to get an idea of the water content.
We’ve explored other filament drying solutions before, too. Video after the break.
youtube.com/embed/Ue3A35s2yeQ?…
[Thanks to Keith Olson for the tip!]
FCC’s latest attack on late-night may preview new anti-press strategy
Authoritarians hate being laughed at. Maybe that’s why Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr continues to pick fights with late-night comedians.
Carr’s latest swipe is a public notice released on Jan. 21, 2026, warning late-night and daytime talk shows that their programs might no longer qualify for an exception to the FCC’s “equal time” rule.
The equal time rule requires broadcast stations that allow one candidate for office to use their airways during non-news programming to provide an equal opportunity for other candidates to do the same. Remember when Carr lost his mind about Kamala Harris appearing on “Saturday Night Live”? That was about the equal time rule.
NBC, to be clear, did not violate the rule. But the freak-out was a preview of how Carr is now preparing to use the rule against those who speak out against President Donald Trump.
Critically, the FCC’s public notice isn’t just a shot across the bow of Jimmy Kimmel, “The View,” and similar shows. It’s also a threat to every broadcast newsroom in the country.
That’s because of how the notice talks about an exception to the equal time rule for “bona fide” newscasts, news interviews, news documentaries, and on-the-spot news coverage. That exception is required by statute, but the law leaves the FCC the discretion as to what counts as a “bona fide.” The First Amendment restricts the FCC’s discretion, but it’s still dangerous. Carr has shown again and again how little he cares for constitutional limits.
In this instance, the public notice goes out of its way to stress that programs that “serve a political agenda” or are “unfairly putting their thumbs on the scale of one political candidate or set of candidates over another” do not qualify for the exception. That sounds reasonable, until you ask an obvious question: Who decides what is designed to serve a political agenda, or what it means to unfairly put a thumb on the scale?
Turns out it’s the not-so-independent FCC that would get to decide. And that’s a big problem.
Carr takes his marching orders from Trump, who believes that any news program that isn’t lavishly praising him is biased against him. The White House literally maintains a website dedicated to denouncing major news outlets, including broadcasters, as enemies and Democratic propagandists for the “crime” of reporting facts. Trump trots out made-up statistics (“97% BAD STORIES”!) to smear news outlets as partisan.
ABC, NBC, CBS — it doesn’t matter. Even capitulation doesn’t buy safety. CBS humiliated itself by paying Trump $16 million to settle a frivolous lawsuit, and ABC didn’t do much better by shelling out $15 million on a case it could have won. Yet Trump still accuses them of bias and even threatens to sue them again all the time.
Stations that want to continue to claim the exception may strive to ensure their coverage meets the approval of Carr and Trump, in a warped recreation of the old and discredited Fairness Doctrine.
Against this backdrop, it’s not hard to imagine this FCC chair — who wears a gold lapel pin of Trump’s face and has selective amnesia when it comes to the First Amendment — deciding that broadcast news aired on ABC, CBS, or NBC stations are not “bona fide” news programs because, according to the president, they “serve a political agenda.”
That would hand the federal government even more regulatory power to shape broadcast programming. Stations that want to continue to claim the exception may strive to ensure their coverage meets the approval of Carr and Trump, in a warped recreation of the old and discredited Fairness Doctrine.
Stations that don’t modify their coverage and are found not to qualify for the exception as a result could be forced to provide free airtime to candidates they don’t invite to appear on their news programs. Worse, Carr could hold up mergers and other transactions requiring FCC approval for licensees that don’t follow his interpretation of the equal time rule.
Sure, broadcasters could challenge Carr’s edicts under the First Amendment, but that’s a long process that would only further draw government ire in the meantime.
Enforcement of the exception under Carr’s possible new interpretation also would not necessarily be equal. The FCC could aggressively demand “equal time” for Trump-aligned candidates while ignoring violations that shut out Democrats.
Congress knew that without the bona fide news exception to the equal time rule, broadcast news may avoid covering candidates and campaigns, and would be forced to “both sides” discussions where one side is obviously lying. Stripping away that protection will result in a chilling effect that Congress was specifically trying to prevent.
That’s especially true when stations have to worry about the rule being turned against them by a hyperpartisan FCC chair. The result is that the public will be less likely to hear from candidates on broadcast news programs, especially those who may criticize Trump or other Republicans.
Congress must act to stop this reinterpretation of the equal time rule and bona fide news exemption in its tracks. Oversight hearings are a good start, but lawmakers should also amend the Communications Act to put in guardrails that prevent the FCC from acting as a censor in chief and an arbiter of free speech. Whether it’s late-night TV or the nightly news, free speech shouldn’t be subject to the whims of Brendan Carr and Donald Trump.
Collaborative Remote Work Without Surveillance: CryptPad + Jitsi Meet
Remote work is now reality for millions of people. But the tools we use - Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Zoom, Slack - have a hidden cost: our data, our conversations, our documents become commodities.
At virebent.art we offer a complete and free alternative.
CRYPTPAD - Your encrypted office suite
cryptpad.virebent.art
Collaborative text documents, spreadsheets, presentations, code/markdown editor, Kanban boards, shared whiteboards, forms and surveys. All with end-to-end encryption: data gets encrypted on your device before being sent. Real zero-knowledge.
JITSI MEET - Free video conferencing
jitsi.virebent.art
HD video meetings, screen sharing, chat, local recording. No account required, no data collected. Open, create room, share link. Done.
TOGETHER: A COMPLETE SUITE
Imagine: you prepare a document on CryptPad, share it with the team, have a call on Jitsi to discuss it, edit in real-time while talking, organize tasks on Kanban. All without any corporation reading, analyzing, profiling.
Both services are:
- Open source (auditable code)
- Self-hosted (managed by us, not Big Tech)
- No mandatory registration
- No ads or tracking
- Free
The collaborative work of the future doesn't have to be surveilled. Try it, share it, spread the word.
Virebent.art - Privacy-First Communication Platform
Secure communication services rejecting Google and surveillance capitalismVirebent.art
Converting a Nebra Cryptocurrency Miner To a Meshcore Repeater
After the swivel by Helium Inc. towards simply running distributed WiFi hotspots after for years pushing LoRaWAN nodes, many of the associated hardware became effectively obsolete. This led to quite a few of these Nebra LoRa Miners getting sold off, with the [Buy it Fix it] channel being one of those who sought to give these chunks of IP-67-rated computing hardware a new life.
Originally designed to be part of the Helium Network Token (HNT) cryptocurrency mining operation, with users getting rewarded by having these devices operating, they contain fairly off-the-shelf hardware. As can be glanced from e.g. the Sparkfun product page, it’s basically a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3+ on a breakout board with a RAK 2287 LoRa module. The idea in the video was to convert it into a Meshcore repeater, which ought to be fairly straightforward, one might think.
Unfortunately the unit came with a dead eMMC chip on the compute module, the LoRa module wasn’t compatible with Meshcore, and the Nebra breakout board only covers the first 24 pins of the standard RPi header on its pin header.
The solutions involved using a µSD card for the firmware instead of the eMMC, and doing some creative routing on the bottom of the breakout board to connect the unconnected pins on the breakout’s RPi header to the pins on the compute module’s connector. This way a compatible LoRa module could be placed on this header.
Rather than buying an off-the-shelf LoRa module for the RPi and waiting for delivery, a custom module was assembled from an eByte E22 LoRa module and some stripboard to test whether the contraption would work at all. Fortunately a test of the system as a Meshcore repeater showed that it works as intended, serving as a pretty decent proof-of-concept of how to repurpose those systems from a defunct crypto mining scheme into a typical LoRa repeater, whether Meshcore or equivalent.
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Quest'anno ho deciso di provare a fare le olive in salamoia.
Gli sono stato dietro per mesi, da settembre, non proprio un lavoraccio ma insomma ci ho investito un po' di tempo.
Stasera, dopo quattro mesi di attesa, finalmente sono pronte, le ho assaggiate e... indovinate.
NON SONO UN GRANCHÉ.
😭😭😭
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[2026-01-24] 🇬🇳ROCKERS ARENA 🇬🇳 @ ZAM
🇬🇳ROCKERS ARENA 🇬🇳
ZAM - Milano, via Sant'Abbondio 4
(sabato, 24 gennaio 21:00)
Sabato 24/01 ROCKERS ARENA sarà a @zam_zona.autonoma.milano per la prima volta in versione notturna nella sala delle feste
Per l'occasione verranno a trovarci da Torino i ragazzi di
@afreekan_children_sound_system
@fra_azaria
@ciscokidmc
L'Arena li accoglierá con il suo sound system e tutta la crew: @toolyo, @therootsfellas e @mr.brown_sound_system
La serata é dedicata alla promozione della @polisportivazam uno dei principali progetti sociali di ZAM: tanti sport e situazioni di incontro, senza scopo di lucro.
Sport popolare come mezzo di unione: fate girare la voce!!!
Ricordate: ZAM é una yard inclusiva, antifascista e antiproibizionista.
Dalle 21:00 alle 4:00
Ingresso: 5€
See ya, rockers!!!
[2026-01-29] Apre Bar Manituana - Murga Edition @ Manituana - Laboratorio Culturale Autogestito
Apre Bar Manituana - Murga Edition
Manituana - Laboratorio Culturale Autogestito - Largo Maurizio Vitale 113, Torino
(giovedì, 29 gennaio 18:30)
🍷 Ci ripariamo dal freddo invernale nella sala bar di Manituana!
🥁 dalle h18:30 con @folamurgatorino guardando il documentario “Folamurga”
e ballando e suonando alla Jam Session
💜 no machi, no fashi, porta lə amə e porta il tuo bicchiere
[2026-01-25] Ricicliamo il natale @ Vivèro - luogo di quartiere
Ricicliamo il natale
Vivèro - luogo di quartiere - Via Antonio Raimondi, 37
(domenica, 25 gennaio 18:00)
Non ci siamo stancatə…ne vogliamo ancora!!!
Dopo un mese esatto dal Natale, il 25 gennaio Vivèro vi invita a una tombolata riciclata benefit per lo spazio
Per continuare ad abitarlo e attraversarlo ribaltando le logiche capitaliste
Tu porti un regalo che non ha trovato posto a casa tua, noi gli diamo una seconda possibilità! Due giri di tombola, uno con i vostri regali e uno con oggetti di Vivèro
Il tutto condito da aperitivo e musica
Una sola regola: massimo un regalo a testa!
Ore 18, via Antonio Raimondi 37, Pigneto, Pianeta Terra
Amministrazione autonoma: gli attacchi a Kobanê e al cantone di Cizir costituiscono genocidio e crimine di guerra
L’Amministrazione autonoma ha dichiarato che gli attacchi a Kobanê e al cantone di Cizir sono una campagna genocida pianificata e sistematica e ha chiesto un intervento urgente contro i crimini commessi contro i civili.
L’Amministrazione autonoma democratica della Siria settentrionale e orientale (DAANES) ha rilasciato una dichiarazione scritta in merito all’ondata di attacchi in corso contro Kobanê e il cantone di Cizir e ha invitato la comunità internazionale, compresa la Coalizione internazionale contro l’ISIS, a porre immediatamente fine agli attacchi e ai crimini commessi contro i civili.
La dichiarazione di DAANES di giovedì recita quanto segue:
“Confermiamo il nostro pieno impegno a rispettare il dichiarato cessate il fuoco e a impedire lo spargimento di sangue del nostro popolo, nonché a proteggere la sicurezza e la stabilità della nostra regione. Tuttavia, gruppi armati affiliati al governo di Damasco stanno deliberatamente e sistematicamente violando il cessate il fuoco e attaccando spietatamente i civili e le nostre aree residenziali, in particolare la città di Kobanê e il cantone di Cizir.
Gli attacchi a Kobanê non sono un’operazione militare di routine, ma un crimine di guerra. Kobanê rappresenta un punto di svolta nella storia e il luogo che ha decretato la fine dell’organizzazione terroristica ISIS, che ha rappresentato una grave minaccia per l’intera umanità. Kobanê è presa di mira perché è il simbolo della resistenza e ha protetto il mondo. Oggi, Kobanê è privata di acqua, elettricità e servizi di base a causa dei continui attacchi alle sue infrastrutture. Più di recente, la sua connessione internet è stata interrotta, interrompendo il suo collegamento con il resto del mondo.
Gli eventi nel cantone di Kobanê e Cizir costituiscono una sistematica campagna di genocidio condotta contro il popolo curdo, volta a spezzare la volontà del nostro popolo e a cancellare le sue conquiste. Il mondo intero ha assistito alle violazioni e ai crimini commessi contro i curdi e i combattenti a Raqqa e in altre regioni. Oggi, questi crimini si ripetono senza alcuna risposta.
Condanniamo fermamente i brutali attacchi contro il nostro popolo. Riteniamo le parti aggressori responsabili delle conseguenze di questa pericolosa escalation. Invitiamo la comunità internazionale, inclusa la Coalizione Internazionale contro l’ISIS, a cessare immediatamente gli attacchi e a porre fine ai crimini commessi contro i civili.
Facciamo appello anche al nostro popolo determinato, agli amici del popolo curdo in tutto il Kurdistan e nel mondo, affinché rafforzino il livello di lotta e resistenza e proteggano le conquiste ottenute attraverso la resistenza dei nostri martiri e combattenti e la volontà del nostro popolo libero.
Oggi è il giorno dell’unità nazionale. Oggi, i curdi di ogni angolo del Kurdistan si uniscono contro i crimini di genocidio. La storia registrerà questa resistenza a lettere d’oro. Il nostro popolo manterrà il suo impegno e la sua determinazione per la libertà, l’onore e il diritto alla vita.
L'articolo Amministrazione autonoma: gli attacchi a Kobanê e al cantone di Cizir costituiscono genocidio e crimine di guerra proviene da Retekurdistan.it.
Why is the human penis so big? Scientists probed the evolution of penis size through sexual selection and mate competition in a first-of-its-kind study#TheAbstract
Scientists Got Men to Rate Penises by How Intimidating They Are. This Is What They Found.
🌘
Subscribe to 404 Media to get The Abstract, our newsletter about the most exciting and mind-boggling science news and studies of the week.When it comes to the evolution of the human penis, size matters.
Scientists have discovered that men with larger penises are not only more attractive to women, they are also deemed more threatening to men, which is “the first experimental evidence that males assess rivals’ fighting ability and attractiveness to females based partly on a rival’s penis size,” according to a study published in PLOS Biology on Thursday.
“In humans, height and body shape are well known to influence attractiveness, but penis size has rarely been tested alongside these traits in a controlled, experimental setup,” said Upama Aich, a behavioral and evolutionary biologist at the University of Western Australia who led the study, in an email to 404 Media.
“What motivated us was the evolutionary puzzle that the human penis is unusually large relative to other primates, which raises the question of whether it signals information beyond its primary reproductive role of sperm transfer,” she added.
Sexual selection, a form of natural selection, is a process in which certain traits that enhance reproductive success—from big antlers to colorful feathers—become amplified in a lineage over time. Male traits may persist both because they are selected by females, which is known as intersexual selection, or because those traits are associated with better success against male rivals, which is called intrasexual selection.
Previous research has presented evidence that bigger penises are more attractive to women, in tandem with characteristics like height and body shape, suggesting that intersexual selection may have played a role in the anomalously large human penis. Aich and her colleagues set out to confirm that result, while also testing out the role of intrasexual selection for the first time.
The researchers recruited more than 600 male and 200 female participants to rate computer-generated male figures with different heights, body shapes, and penis sizes (all shown in a flaccid state). Some participants attended an in-person display of life-size images while others rated the figures on an online platform. Men were asked to assess the figures as potential rivals, while women were asked to rate them as potential mates.
Participants also filled out a questionnaire about their physical characteristics (including height and weight) and sexuality. Given the focus on mates and rivals, the researchers only used responses from self-identified heterosexual males and females in the study.
The team designed the approach with nondescript figures devoid of any personality or identifiable background in part to sidestep the immense cultural weight of the human penis, an anatomical feature endowed with major significance across eras and societies.
“We were very conscious that penis size is culturally loaded and surrounded by myths, humour, and anxiety,” said Aich. “That’s one reason we used anatomically accurate, computer-generated figures: it allowed us to manipulate specific traits independently while controlling for personal identity, social narratives and contextual cues.”
“I do think this cultural baggage has discouraged careful scientific study in sensitive topics in the past, but from an evolutionary perspective, that makes it even more important to examine the question empirically rather than relying on assumptions,” she added.
To that end, the new study confirmed that women generally preferred figures with larger penises in addition to taller figures with more V-shaped bodies. It also revealed for the first time that men factored penis size into their assessment of male rivals, as they rated the figures with larger penises as more threatening rivals. Even more importantly, the men overwhelmingly guessed that the figures with larger penises would be more attractive to women.
According to the researchers, this hints that in our evolutionary past, males may have avoided confrontations with rivals based in part on their penis size in addition to height and body shape. As a consequence, males with larger penises may have secured more access to mates not only due to female preference, but also because they were not challenged by rivals as often. This aspect of male-male competition may have helped to enlarge the human penis over time through selection.
“Previous research had often focused on the effect of penis size on female preferences, so our results that men also use penis size when assessing rivals adds a new dimension to the story,” Aich said. “It suggests penis size is interpreted not only in a sexual context, but also in competitive rival cues.”
“However, the effect of penis size on attractiveness was four to seven times higher than its effect as a signal of fighting ability,” she continued. “This suggests that the enlarged penis in humans may have evolved more in response to its effect as a sexual ornament to attract females than as a badge of status for males, although it does both.”
Aich said her team was most surprised by the consistency of the participants’ responses across many manipulated variables. Similar patterns in the responses showed up regardless of whether the participants were viewing life-sized projections or scaled images online, whether they received payment for the experiment, and across both male and female participants.
“One obvious next step is to study how these visual cues interact with others that matter in real-world interactions, such as facial features, voice, or movement,” she said. “Another open question is how culturally variable these perceptions are, since standards of masculinity and attractiveness differ across societies. A cross-cultural study would be interesting.”
The new study adds to the evidence that both forms of sex selection influenced the size of the human penis, but many other factors also played a role in the development of the organ. For example, penis shape and size may have evolved to scoop the sperm of rival males out of the vaginal canal, or to raise the odds of female orgasm, both of which can contribute to reproductive success.
In other words, both the size of the ship and the motion of the ocean are a part of the complex story of human sexual evolution.
🌘
Subscribe to 404 Media to get The Abstract, our newsletter about the most exciting and mind-boggling science news and studies of the week.Experimental evidence that penis size, height, and body shape influence assessment of male sexual attractiveness and fighting ability in humans
Why the human penis is unusually large compared to other primates is a long-standing evolutionary question.plos.io
freezonemagazine.com/articoli/…
Il 2025 si era chiuso con l’arresto di Cedomir Stojkovic, l’avvocato di Belgrado noto oppositore del regime serbo. Rilasciato dopo poche ore Stojkovic ha spiegato, parlando con i giornalisti, che il suo breve fermo aveva due cause: continuare a parlare sui suoi profili di EuroMaidan in Ucraina come espressione di una volontà
freezonemagazine.com/articoli/…
L’uscita del recente The Whale (freezonemagazine.com/articoli/…) di Chantal Acda, ci ha dato modo di parlare con l’artista ormai in procinto di sbarcare sul palchi del nostro paese per un mini tour di quattro date che, tra fine gennaio ed i primi di febbraio la vedrà protagonista. Un’intervista breve, che può dare un’idea della musicista che […]
L'articolo Intervista
freezonemagazine.com/articoli/…
Nel febbraio 1994, David Munyon – una settimana prima di venire in Europa a regalarci il concerto “Carliniano” di Sesto Calende (altra uscita di New Shot Records di cui parleremo a breve) – registra un album totalmente nuovo che però, in quanto poco incline a seguire i suoi affari, David dimenticherà quei nastri nei cassetti […]
L'articolo David Munyon – The Lost Album proviene da FREE ZONE MAGAZI
possibile.com/bongiorno-consen…
La proposta Bongiorno, sostituendo il consenso con il dissenso, rischia di minare questa tutela, depotenziare la legge e riportare indietro anni di battaglie civili e femministe. Chiedere che il ddl 1715 non venga modificato significa affermare la necessità di una legge chiara, una cultura chiara e un principio chiaro: il consenso
possibile.com/pieno-sostegno-a…
È di questi giorni, infatti, la notizia dell’arrivo anche a Reggio Emilia delle prime denunce
Vi racconto il Quantum di Tim che proietta l’Italia in Europa e nel mondo. Parla Occhipinti
@Notizie dall'Italia e dal mondo
Il Quantum è passato da tecnologia di nicchia a priorità strategica per governi e industrie. Tra sicurezza, difesa e trasferimento tecnologico, l’Italia può contare su una filiera scientifica e industriale già matura. Tommaso Occhipinti,
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#Davos, la fine dell'illusione atlantica
Davos e la fine dell’illusione atlantica -
L’intervento di Donald Trump mercoledì a Davos ha frenato solo in apparenza l’escalation dello scontro tra Stati Uniti ed Europa attorno alla questione dellaMichele Paris (altrenotizie.org)
Dual-use, un asset strategico per le esportazioni italiane. Scrive Tripodi
@Notizie dall'Italia e dal mondo
L’ambito dei materiali a duplice uso è particolarmente importante per una grande economia manifatturiera ed esportatrice come quella del nostro Paese. L’Italia può vantare delle vere e proprie eccellenze in molti dei settori che rientrano in questa categoria e che
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Ddl Frjia. Cosa cambia e quali vantaggi per il settore subacqueo
@Notizie dall'Italia e dal mondo
Il settore sottomarino nazionale cambia pelle e con il via libera al ddl Frjia (che colma un vuoto normativo) si apre la strada ad una fase del tutto nuova, in virtù della nascita dell’Agenzia per la sicurezza delle attività subacquee. Dalla Camera ieri è arrivato il sì dopo il voto
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AFGHANISTAN. Il 2026 si apre con il sangue, tra instabilità cronica e crisi umanitaria
@Notizie dall'Italia e dal mondo
Il 19 gennaio scorso, sette persone sono state uccise in un attentato a Kabul. Lo ha rivendicato l’ISIS-K, ma sono diverse le formazioni che attaccano i civili per colpire il governo de facto talebano.
L'articolo AFGHANISTAN. Il 2026
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È uscito il nuovo numero di The Post Internazionale. Da oggi potete acquistare la copia digitale
@Politica interna, europea e internazionale
È uscito il nuovo numero di The Post Internazionale. Il magazine, disponibile già da ora nella versione digitale sulla nostra App, e da domani, venerdì 23 gennaio, in tutte le edicole, propone ogni due settimane inchieste e approfondimenti sugli affari e il potere in
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La Turchia continua a rifornire Israele di petrolio
@Notizie dall'Italia e dal mondo
Nel 2025 le importazioni di greggio verso Israele attraverso infrastrutture della Turchia crescono di oltre un terzo, nonostante Ankara rivendichi lo stop agli scambi commerciali, confermando la continuità delle forniture energetiche da Azerbaigian.
L'articolo La Turchia continua a rifornire Israele di
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La Nato militare in Groenlandia tra prudenza e deterrenza. Le parole di Cavo Dragone
@Notizie dall'Italia e dal mondo
La riunione del Comitato militare della Nato a Bruxelles si è svolta mentre l’attenzione strategica dell’Alleanza si estende oltre il fronte orientale. Alla guerra in Ucraina si affiancano infatti le dinamiche del Grande Nord, dove il dossier
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Kobane calling: rise up 4 rojava! Brescia
L’Amministrazione autonoma democratica della Siria del nord-est e il popolo curdo sono sotto attacco su tutti i fronti. Nel silenzio complice della comunità internazionale le milizie salafite dell’attuale regime siriano (comandato dalla Turchia e sostenuto dagli USA, Ue e Israele) assediano Kobane – città-simbolo della resistenza contro Daesh – liberano miliziani jihadisti dalle prigioni, uccidono e torturano i civili, rapiscono le donne per ridurle in schiavitù.
L’Amministrazione autonoma del Rojava rappresenta un’alternativa allo sfruttamento imposto dal capitalismo, allo stato-nazione, ai nazionalismi e alle divisioni settarie che devastano e opprimono il Medio oriente e il mondo.
DIFENDIAMOLA! Lottiamo insieme contro le guerre e i genocidi del capitalismo, per l’autodeterminazione dei popoli e la resistenza degli oppressi/e dalla Siria e dal Kurdistan alla Palestina, dall’Iran all’Europa, in tutto il mondo.
L'articolo Kobane calling: rise up 4 rojava! Brescia proviene da Retekurdistan.it.
Trump ora vuole l’attacco all’Iran. Gli Usa rafforzano la presenza in Medio Oriente
@Notizie dall'Italia e dal mondo
Caccia F-15, aerei cisterna, da trasporto e AC-130J sono stati trasferiti in Giordania e in altri paesi della regione
L'articolo Trump ora vuole l’attacco all’Iran. Gli Usa rafforzano la presenza in Medio Oriente proviene da Pagine Esteri.
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Pieno sostegno agli attivisti e alle attiviste denunciate a Reggio Emilia durante le manifestazioni per Gaza
Il Comitato reggiano di Possibile esprime pieno sostegno agli attivisti e attiviste colpite dalle denunce in occasione dei cortei in favore di Gaza e della Global Sumud Flotilla.
”È di questi giorni, infatti, la notizia dell’arrivo anche a Reggio Emilia delle prime denunce comminate alle attiviste e agli attivisti che hanno manifestato per la città durante i cortei a favore del popolo palestinese ed in difesa della Global Sumud Flotilla il 22 settembre e 3 ottobre scorsi. Cortei assolutamente pacifici, molto partecipati, che hanno ribadito con chiarezza da che parte sta la nostra città: per la libertà e per l’autodeterminazione dei popoli, contro le guerre predatorie e contro i genocidi.
“Questi provvedimenti penali – prosegue il comitato – sono la diretta conseguenza dei nuovi reati di blocco stradale e ferroviario introdotti dal “DL Sicurezza”, espressione chiara e manifesta della volontà repressiva del dissenso da parte del governo Meloni. Non possiamo accettare passivamente che chi, con coraggio e volontà ha messo i propri corpi in gioco per la causa della libertà del popolo palestinese, possa essere macchiati di reati penali.”
Oltre alla fedina penale macchiata, se il Parlamento approverà il nuovo pacchetto di misure aggiuntive in materia di sicurezza, a coloro che risultino anche solo denunciati o condannati con sentenza non definitiva nel corso dei cinque anni precedenti sarà esteso il Daspo Urbano, ovvero il divieto di accesso nei centri urbani. “Immaginare che a studenti, lavoratori, sindacalisti e semplici attivisti possa essere vietato l’ingresso in città solo per il semplice esercizio del diritto di espressione di dissenso e di pacifico contrasto sociale è agghiacciante. Il rischio di una deriva autoritaria da parte di questo governo è sotto gli occhi di tutti.”
Possibile si schiera quindi a fianco di tutte e tutti coloro che in quelle giornate hanno colorato pacificamente la città, senza nessun tipo di danno, facendo proprio anche proprie anche le preoccupazioni espresse dal presidente nazionale di Anpi Gianfranco Pagliarulo. Questi atti intimidatori sono la risposta del governo a chi lo ha messo in crisi per la prima volta attraverso una grande mobilitazione popolare che ha attraversato anche la nostra città. Non possiamo permettere che chi verrà colpito da queste denunce venga lasciato da solo. Possibile è da sempre a fianco di chi, nel nome della libertà e della giustizia sociale, scende in piazza e in strada.
L'articolo Pieno sostegno agli attivisti e alle attiviste denunciate a Reggio Emilia durante le manifestazioni per Gaza proviene da Possibile.
Manifestazione a Torino a sostegno dei curdi del Rojava
Sabato 24 gennaio manifestazione a Torino a sostegno dei kurdi del Rojava: ore 15.00 piazza Vittorio Veneto. Gli islamisti eredi dell’isis stanno compiendo massacri e pulizia etnica in Rojava con la complicita’ dell’occidente. Fermiamoli, prima che sia troppo tardi.
Verso il Kurdistan
L'articolo Manifestazione a Torino a sostegno dei curdi del Rojava proviene da Retekurdistan.it.
Landini, il Tar ci dà ragione, Salvini ha violato diritto di sciopero
“La sentenza odierna del Tar sconfessa il Ministro dei Trasporti: è illegittima la precettazione contro lo sciopero generale del 17 novembre 2023, il diritto di sciopero è stato quindi violato. Il Tribunale ha infatti accertato l’illegittimità dell’ordinanza con cui il Ministero delle Infrastrutture e dei Trasporti aveva ridotto autoritariamente lo sciopero generale”
🎊 🎉
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Il nuovo video di Pasta Grannies: youtube.com/shorts/yWSTBgs0d_A
@Cucina e ricette
(HASHTAG)
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Export control, industria e sicurezza. Il Forum alla Farnesina ridisegna le priorità italiane
@Notizie dall'Italia e dal mondo
Il controllo delle esportazioni si conferma uno snodo centrale delle politiche industriali e di sicurezza. È il messaggio che emerge dal 3° Forum italiano sul controllo delle esportazioni, ospitato alla Farnesina, dove istituzioni,
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VIDEO. L’assedio israeliano alla città palestinese di Hebron
@Notizie dall'Italia e dal mondo
Centinaia di soldati e blindati paralizzano la città occupata nella Cisgiordania meridionale, con arresti, blocchi e nuovo muro di controllo, mentre l’operazione è destinata a durare giorni. Da Hebron, il servizio video di Michele Giorgio
L'articolo VIDEO. L’assedio israeliano alla
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“Giulio continua a fare cose…” inaugurata la mostra: Il Popolo giallo: una storia collettiva
@Giornalismo e disordine informativo
articolo21.org/2026/01/giulio-…
Domenica 18 gennaio è stata inaugurata presso la Sala Consiliare del Municipio (Via Gramsci 8), la mostra
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DDL 1715: non possiamo cancellare la parola “consenso”
Parlare di violenza sessuale significa confrontarsi con una realtà drammatica e pervasiva, che colpisce milioni di persone ogni anno, violando diritti umani fondamentali. Secondo l’Organizzazione Mondiale della Sanità e l’ONU, quasi una donna su tre ha subito violenza fisica o sessuale nella vita, e centinaia di milioni di ragazze sono state vittime di abusi prima dei 18 anni. Non sono numeri astratti: sono vite spezzate, traumi psicologici, sociali e fisici che accompagnano le persone per anni, storie che chiedono giustizia, riconoscimento e protezione.
Il ddl 1715, attualmente all’esame del Senato, rappresenta una grande opportunità per cambiare finalmente il paradigma: non più la violenza sessuale misurata solo attraverso la forza fisica o la minaccia, ma centrata sul consenso libero, consapevole e revocabile della persona coinvolta. Questo principio significa che qualsiasi atto sessuale senza un sì chiaro e consapevole è reato, e sposta completamente il peso della responsabilità sull’autore della violenza. Non si tratta di un dettaglio tecnico: è la differenza tra giustizia reale e una finta tutela che colpevolizza la vittima.
“Il consenso è tutto quando si tratta di sesso. L’essere in silenzio o il non dire esplicitamente ‘no’ non equivale a dare consenso.” — #IoLoChiedo, Amnesty International
E’ assurda, quindi, la proposta della senatrice Bongiorno di sostituire il concetto di consenso con quello di dissenso che rischia di invertire tutto il lavoro fatto negli ultimi anni, e negli ultimi mesi con questo ddl. Non si tratta di un mero cambio lessicale, ma della volontà politica di ribaltare, di nuovo, il paradigma: nel modello del dissenso, infatti, è chi subisce violenza deve dimostrare di essersi opposto, di aver detto “no” chiaramente e abbastanza. È una logica che riporta indietro la legge e la cultura, facendo tornare sulle vittime il peso della responsabilità e aumentando la discrezionalità dei giudici. Spesso chi subisce violenza si blocca, non reagisce fisicamente o non sa come manifestare opposizione in quel momento, e pretendere da queste persone di “difendersi abbastanza” è semplicemente ingiusto.
Il consenso, al contrario, è un principio universale e positivo, riconosciuto anche dalla Convenzione di Istanbul, secondo cui la volontà della persona deve essere libera e valutata nel contesto reale in cui l’atto avviene. Significa dire chiaramente che chi subisce violenza non è responsabile, che la sua immobilità, il silenzio o la paura non possono mai essere interpretati come consenso.
“In caso di dubbio sul consenso, chiedilo espressamente.” — #IoLoChiedo, Amnesty International
I dati globali sono impietosi: centinaia di milioni di donne e ragazze hanno subito violenze, e solo una minima parte denuncia, perché il sistema giudiziario richiede criteri difficili da dimostrare e spesso invisibili. La legge sul consenso non è un dettaglio ideologico, ma una risposta concreta a un problema reale, capace di proteggere chi subisce violenza e di creare strumenti chiari per perseguire chi la commette.
Proprio per questo il ddl 1715 non è solo una legge penale: è un messaggio culturale. Significa che la libertà sessuale è un diritto inviolabile, che il corpo di ciascuna e ciascuno è intoccabile e che nessuno può essere giudicato per le proprie reazioni o per il proprio comportamento. Sostituire il consenso con il dissenso non è aggiornare la legge: è riportare indietro la cultura e legittimare vecchi stereotipi che ancora oggi affiorano nei tribunali.
Secondo l’OMS, circa 840 milioni di donne e ragazze hanno affrontato violenza da partner o da altre persone, e centinaia di milioni di questi atti non sono denunciati. Questi numeri mostrano quanto sia urgente una legge chiara sul consenso.
Difendere il consenso significa anche lottare per l’educazione e la trasformazione culturale. Campagne come #IoLoChiedo educano, informano e invitano a creare relazioni basate sul rispetto e sulla libertà, perché il cambiamento giuridico deve andare di pari passo con quello culturale. Significa insegnare che il consenso non è negoziabile, che le relazioni sessuali e affettive devono essere basate sulla volontà chiara e condivisa, e che il rispetto del corpo e della libertà di ciascuno è il fondamento della democrazia. E per farlo servono necessariamente anche percorsi obbligatori e in orario curricolare per un’educazione sessuale e affettiva inclusiva, nelle scuole di ogni ordine e grado.
Non smetteremo mai di dirlo e di lottare affinché si possa discutere anche di questo, esprimendo tutta la nostra contrarietà verso le scelte reazionarie portate avanti dal Ministro Valditara e da tutto il Governo su questo tema.
Come Possibile siamo sempre statɜ al fianco delle campagne internazionali per il consenso e per l’educazione sessuale e affettiva, convintɜ che una società che non riconosce e tutela la libertà sessuale non possa definirsi libera, giusta o civile. Proprio per questo, la proposta Bongiorno, sostituendo il consenso con il dissenso, rischia di minare questa tutela, depotenziare la legge e riportare indietro anni di battaglie civili e femministe.
Chiedere che il ddl 1715 non venga modificato significa affermare la necessità di una legge chiara, una cultura chiara e un principio chiaro: il consenso non si negozia.
È un impegno verso chi ha subito violenza, verso chi non ha ancora denunciato per paura, verso tutte e tutti noi che vogliamo vivere in una società più giusta, più rispettosa, più libera.
Solo un sì libero e consapevole rende un atto sessuale lecito.
Solo sì è sì.
Sempre.
Gianmarco Capogna
Coordinatore Comitato Scientifico Possibile
L'articolo DDL 1715: non possiamo cancellare la parola “consenso” proviene da Possibile.
Digital Networks Act: So will die EU-Kommission den Sprung ins Glasfaserzeitalter schaffen
netzpolitik.org/2026/digital-n…
Supreme Court could greenlight geofence warrants
When federal agents raided Washington Post reporter Hannah Nantanson’s home earlier this month, it reignited discussions about how reporters can protect confidential sources and sensitive information.
“Having reported from dozens of countries with various levels of surveillance, I’ve found that the safest method for interacting with sources who would face the most jeopardy if exposed is to meet in person and cover your tracks,” said Steve Herman, executive director of the Jordan Center for Journalism Advocacy and Innovation, in a recent statement by the National Press Club Journalism Institute.
That’s good advice. But “covering your tracks” when meeting sources isn’t always easy. And a new Supreme Court case, Chatrie v. United States, could make it harder.
The dangers of geofence warrants
At the heart of the Chatrie case are legal orders known as geofence warrants. This controversial tool allows police to demand location data from tech companies (usually Google) to see every device in a specific area at a specific time. Imagine drawing a digital fence around a crime scene and demanding a list of every phone that crossed into it.
These demands can reveal precise details about people’s movements and locations. Authorities can pinpoint where someone stood within a couple of yards and whether they were on the first or second floor of a building.
But geofence warrants are also imprecise: They sweep up the movements not just of suspects but also of innocent people who happen to be within the digital fence. Demanding location data for a 150-yard radius of a bank in the hour before it was robbed, for example, may show the movements of people who worked at the bank, visited the psychiatrist’s office next door, worshipped at the church on the neighboring block, or dropped into the nearby strip club.
Lower courts disagree about whether these demands violate the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. Some have held that they’re categorically unconstitutional. Others, like the appeals court that made the initial decision in Chatrie, have held that geofences are not a “search” under the Fourth Amendment and would be perfectly constitutional even without a warrant.
Now, the Supreme Court will decide. If the court holds that the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement does not apply to the use of geofences to obtain location data, it could greenlight mass surveillance on an enormous scale. The government could require tech companies to turn over location data, enabling it to surveil protesters, members of dissenting groups, and even the press.
A direct threat to journalists and sources
For journalists, the threat of their location data landing in the government’s hands is real. As our digital security training team at Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) explains:
“Consider a sensitive story in which you are meeting a high-risk, anonymous source in person. Your adversaries could use location data to determine that you and the source were in the same spot at the same time, leading to the possible exposure of the source’s identity.“Or perhaps you need to visit a particular location (e.g., a government building) that could put a given department or agency on notice that you are investigating them, in turn making the reporting process more challenging.”
Geofence warrants could easily expose confidential sources or tip off powerful government institutions that a reporter is investigating them. A single geofence warrant centered on a newsroom, for instance, could reveal everyone who’s visited, from whistleblowers to workers.
Even reporters who take precautions, like meeting sources in neutral locations, might not be safe. A geofence warrant could place them within yards of each other in the same parking garage or cafe, revealing their connection.
Holding that the Fourth Amendment applies to geofence warrants would prevent some of these abuses. Under the Fourth Amendment, courts must only approve warrants if there’s probable cause, which is unlikely to exist in fishing expeditions targeting journalists to uncover their confidential sources.
Why this matters, even after Google’s changes
Google took an important step in 2023 by changing how it stores user location data and for how long, making it harder for the government to use geofence warrants. But these protections aren’t foolproof. Other location data collected by Google or other companies could be vulnerable to geofence warrants.
As a result, the court’s decision in Chatrie still matters, and journalists may still want to take steps to limit exposure of their location data.
The outcome of Chatrie also touches on a deeper Fourth Amendment issue that could reverberate beyond geofence warrants: the “third-party doctrine.” This decades-old legal rule says that people lose their reasonable expectation of privacy once they share information voluntarily with third parties, like a phone company or a bank.
The court has limited the third-party doctrine in recent years, most famously in its decision in Carpenter v. United States. But its ruling in Chatrie has the potential to swing the pendulum back toward less privacy. That could impact Fourth Amendment protections for all kinds of data shared with third parties, such as information stored in the cloud or sensitive searches.
Every journalist, source, and citizen should be paying attention and demanding greater privacy protections from the courts and from Congress. If privacy is restricted in this case, our First Amendment rights are too. The free press can’t exist in a surveillance state.
Per domani in Minnesota i sindacati hanno indetto uno sciopero generale contro le violenze e gli abusi dell'ICE.
Sono vicino alle compagne e ai compagni che parteciperanno alla lotta ✊
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“Ethical dilemmas about AI aside, the posts are completely disconnected with ManyVids as a site,” one ManyVids content creator told 404 Media.#AIPorn #porn #manyvids
Aliens and Angel Numbers: Creators Worry Porn Platform ManyVids Is Falling Into ‘AI Psychosis’
In posts on ManyVids, the porn platform’s official account holds imaginary conversations with aliens, alongside AI-generated videos of UFOs, fractal images, “angel numbers,” and a video of its founder and CEO Bella French in a space suit shooting lasers from her eyes.French launched the site in 2014 as a former cam model herself, and the platform has millions of members and tens of thousands of creators. Adult content creators use it to sell custom videos and subscriptions, and perform live on camera. French recently changed her personal website to state her new goal is to “transition one million people out of the adult industry and do everything we can to ensure no one new enters it.” The statement follows posts on X’s ManyVids account about new strategies to pivot the site toward safe-for-work, non-sexual content.
This sudden shift away from years of messaging about being a compatriot with sex workers, combined with bizarre AI-generated text and images about talking to aliens and numerology on social media, has made some creators worry for their livelihoods, and caused others to leave the site completely.
For years, the official ManyVids social media accounts made mostly normal posts that promoted the site and its creators. But in mid-2025, the posts from the ManyVids X account changed. Instead of promotions of top creators, announcements of contests, and tips for using the platform, the account shifted its focus to existential and metaphysical musings. Around August, it started posting cryptic quotes, phrases, and images, many seemingly generated by or about AI.
The account also started replying to engagement-farming posts from influencers, writing things like “Our purpose: to protect the feminine energy — so that balance may return,” and posting borderline-nonsensical bullet-point lists about “the boldness scale” and how ManyVids leadership is “all connected.”
“The impact strength of a positive leader ⚡ Effectiveness ⚡ Execution ⚡ Discipline ⚡ Accountability,” one post in August said. On August 20, @ManyVids posted an image on X of a flow chart alongside a screenshot of a ChatGPT conversation, seemingly illustrating how the platform would bring in users through a “safe-for-work” zone, then allow them to access NSFW content after verifying their identifications. “Our vision: Adult Industry 2.0 isn’t about more revenue. It’s about evolution,” the post said.
The replies to these posts show ManyVids creators expressing anger, concern, and bafflement. The account stopped posting on X in September. But on the ManyVids platform itself, which has a “news” feed that functions similarly to a microblogging platform but is just for official platform posts, the odd entries continue.💡
Do you know anything else about what's happening at ManyVids, or do you have a tip about porn platforms and online sex work generally? I would love to hear from you. Using a non-work device, you can message me securely on Signal at sam.404. Otherwise, send me an email at sam@404media.co.“Social API for the AI Age. Phase 1 — Pride Engine,” one post from January 16 says:
“The High Universal Income (HUI) Engine is the distribution hub of the new economy, built for a world where AI does the work humans never wanted to do. AI generates surplus wealth, but humans need surplus purpose. Human meaning becomes the rarest and most valuable resource on Earth. Instead of opaque taxes, AI companies fund a Social License through platforms like ManyVids, converting AI efficiency into merit-based bonuses for human contribution. For every dollar earned through passion, creation, care, or learning, HUI adds 10%. This is not charity. It is a Pride Engine. We shift the foundation of human value.”
The post ends with a six-second AI generated video that includes the phrase “the ultimate guide to rebuilding civilization.” Most posts in recent weeks are like this: clearly AI generated text alongside six-second AI generated clips showing angels, chakras, or spiritual phrases. “The Simulation of Integrity. If we don’t fully understand the ultimate nature of reality, what should guide how we live inside it?” one recent post says. “If the nature of the ‘game’ is unknown, then how you treat others — and yourself — becomes the most meaningful data point.”
And in a post right after the new year: “Hey everyone! Back-to-the-office Monday vibe. How were your holidays? Did you travel anywhere? I did... 🕳️Next time, I’ll bring sunglasses. I came back with a few new ideas and fresh thoughts ✨Let’s get to work. Let’s go, 2026! 🚀” Below the text: a video of French in a space suit, black hole in the background, shooting laser-lightning out of her eyes.
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1×Screengrab via ManyVids
A lot of people who rely on ManyVids for income have noticed this odd behavior and are disturbed by it.
“Ethical dilemmas about AI aside, the posts are completely disconnected with ManyVids as a site,” one ManyVids content creator told 404 Media, on the condition of anonymity. “Their customers and their creators are not served in any way by these. When faced with backlash, MV removed the ability to comment on posts. To anyone looking at them they appear to be ramblings and images generated by a person in active psychosis.”
0:00
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1×Screengrab via ManyVids
Almost every ManyVids creator 404 Media spoke to for this story brought up “AI psychosis” unprompted, when asked if they’d seen the ManyVids posts.
“I have seen them and I find them really insulting,” Sydney Screams said. “The way I perceive the posts is that Bella and the MV team doesn't respect their creators enough to spend time making their own content, instead taking the easy way out and using bizarre AI that doesn't even relate. Why do we need Bella shooting laser beams out of her eyes to make an announcement? It's infuriating because it's like she doesn't take us seriously, doesn't take her own platform seriously, and we're supposed to just be grateful for the crumbs she's giving us. We deserve better,” she said. “We deserve to be treated with respect, talked to like we're adults, and listened to like our voices matter. Instead we get AI slop and posts that promise big things without any sort of follow through.”
Harlan Paramore, a ManyVids creator who also helps other creators onboard and manage their selling sites, said he’s noticed “bizarre posts about AI, angel numbers, christopaganism, cyberpaganism.”
“I don't have anything against any of those beliefs, but they seem wildly out of place for an official site blog. They are also heavily loaded with AI-like language and structure, and decorated with AI images,” Paramore said. “I'm also a professional artist, and as both an artist and sex worker I'm frustrated and confused. Some of it kind of sounds like AI psychosis, too, which has me concerned for whoever is running that blog.”
“I'm not a mental health professional, but whatever Bella is going through doesn't seem normal. It doesn't seem healthy,” Screams said. “From where I'm sitting, if I were close to Bella, I'd be reaching out to her other friends and family members to stage an intervention and try to get her serious mental health care.”
All of this is coinciding with an apparent massive change in French’s ideology toward sex work. On her personal website, French says the goal of ManyVids is changing to “transition one million people out of the adult industry.” She calls sex work “exploitative.” Her bio quotes her as saying: “I had two choices: surrender to an exploitative industry or dismantle it. I chose to build its replacement... ManyVids was the result—the most efficient revenue-distribution engine for the AI-displaced workforce. Guided by first principles and core value thinking, Bella is leading MV’s next evolution: a Fintech/Social-Impact hybrid that turns digital presence into economic creation. By utilizing AI-integrated workflows and layered access, ManyVids is migrating creators from adult content into a diversified creative economy,” her bio says. “Our goal is to transition one million people out of the adult industry and do everything we can to ensure no one new enters it. We are working to transform an industry we don’t believe should exist—but we recognize that simple elimination creates deeper shadows. The solution is elevation through meaningful alternatives.”
This is a recent addition to her website. According to archived versions of the site, the section about transitioning people out of the sex industry wasn’t there in November 2025.
“ManyVids is now becoming a regulated e-social ecosystem — a digital space that sensitizes, elevates, and restricts adult content through layered brackets of access,” French’s bio says now. “This ensures that sacred sexual expression is never free, never exploited, and never divorced from its core human depth.” The “layered brackets” seem to be a reference to the ChatGPT screenshots from August 20.
This is an extreme departure in tone from what French has said was her mission with ManyVids in the past. In 2019, I met French for an on-background hotel room meeting during the porn industry’s biggest award show and conference, AVN, where she told me she created ManyVids out of a passion to create a platform where other sex workers—having been an adult content creator herself—would be treated fairly and would be listened to by the platform’s owners. French is a former cam model herself, and has always been open publicly about wanting to create better platforms for other sex workers.
“Their customers and their creators are not served in any way by these."
“We try to offer sex workers the tools to be more successful as independent entrepreneurs without being judged,” French told the Daily Beast in 2019. “What was really important for me was to educate the world and make them realize that porn stars are not stupid.”Shortly after she and I met in 2019, French agreed to a written interview as part of a VICE story about authenticity in cam work. In that email, she called camming the “biggest gift” she’d ever received. “Being a camgirl not only has a huge influence on my approach to taking business decisions but has changed the way I view people and life in general,” French wrote at the time. “Every single decision we take at ManyVids must answer 1 simple question, ‘Will this help the content creators, our MV Stars?’ That’s it,” French wrote in 2019. “If the answer is yes then we proceed, regardless if there is any financial advantage or potential for profit, that is irrelevant.”
Platforms have long profited off of sex workers and pornography to establish popularity and rake in revenue before eventually doing a heel-turn on the creators who made them successful. We’ve seen it happen with mainstream social media platforms like Tumblr, Instagram, and Twitter, and also on sites ostensibly made for sex workers, like OnlyFans, which nearly changed its policies to ban explicit material after making billions of dollars off their content.
I asked ManyVids and French if the platform is changing to reflect these social media posts and her statements on her bio, who is making the AI-generated posts mentioned above, how French plans to “transition one million people” out of sex work, and if any of this will affect creators and fans who use ManyVids. The ManyVids support team did not answer these questions specifically, but sent the following response (emphasis theirs):
"Hello, thanks for reaching out. Respect for Online Sex Workers. Sex work is real work. No more living in the shadows, no more being misunderstood.
No more being afraid, shadowbanned, or persecuted by systems and institutions. Not on our watch. We are not victims — and we are taking action now.This generation of online sex workers is about to change the game forever —and transform the oldest profession in the world in the right direction, for good. Respect the creators. Respect the work. Respect what you watch. We stand for safety, dignity, and opportunity for all creators."Screenshot of the emailed response from ManyVids support
I asked ManyVids to explain in specific terms what "we are taking action now" means. They replied: "A post will be published to our ManyVids News feed this Saturday, January 24th. It will provide additional clarification and go into a bit more detail on this," with a link to the feed.“It concerns me that access to my earnings, and more importantly my personal information, is in the hands of someone seemingly out of touch with reality.”
In the meantime, creators have been confused and worried for weeks. Nothing has changed about the way the site operates publicly or creators’ payouts as of writing, but this is a series of events that many adult content creators are concerned represents a potential threat to their livelihood.“If something were to happen to MV (or to my account there) due to what can only be described as AI psychosis, I would lose upwards of 14k per year—a not insignificant amount of income,” another adult creator on ManyVids told 404 Media. “It concerns me that access to my earnings, and more importantly my personal information, is in the hands of someone seemingly out of touch with reality.”
ManyVids takes a larger-than-most cut from creators' profits, depending on the type of content: For videos and contest earnings (which are similar to tips), the platform takes 40 percent. On tips and custom video sales, it takes 20 percent, which is more in line with other adult platforms. This has been a source of complaint from creators for a long time, combined with unpredictable algorithms that creators say change how they’re discovered on the platform and what content performs best, impacting their earnings. Users have expressed dissatisfaction with these aspects of the platform, and how French runs it, for years. But the recent turn to AI and French’s statements about the industry are making some wonder if it’s time to leave.
“I will still be using ManyVids for NSFW content for as long as they allow it,” adult content creator August told 404 Media. “But part of me thinks that they will try to do what OnlyFans did years ago and try to ban NSFW content which would be an absolute disaster for sex workers whose income depends on platforms like ManyVids.”
Luna Sapphire, a creator who has been using the platform since 2015, said she finds French’s statements on her website “harmful and insulting” to those who’ve helped popularize the site from the start. “Most of us are not looking for a path out of the adult industry; we simply want to do our jobs with as little interference and censorship as possible,” Sapphire said. “Bella used to be very pro-sex worker and it is disappointing to see her change her tune.”
Several adult platforms have embraced, or at least allowed, AI-generated content and “models” on their sites alongside human creators in the last few years. On OnlyFans, AI-generated is allowed, but must comply with the site’s terms of service and and “must be clearly and conspicuously captioned as AI Generated Content with a signifier such as #ai, or #AIGenerated,” Onlyfans says in its terms. Fansly, another adult platform for independent creators, forbids “photorealistic AI-generated content” but allows non-photorealistic “virtual entities” (like V-tubers) if they’re registered using the uploader’s real legal information for verification purposes. JustForFans requires that “consent, identity, and proof of age must be established if the AI images are based on a real person's likeness,” and allows deepfakes if consent has been established. “For example, you can use your own face to create images of yourself or a model who has granted consent to use their face,” the platform’s terms say. IWantClips, another site for selling custom content, also requires users making AI-generated models to verify their identities, but explicitly doesn’t allow deepfakes.
In 2024, IWantClips awarded an AI-generated model $1,000 as the winner of a Valentine’s Day-themed contest. “Adora” competed in the contest alongside human sex workers. On most of these sites, engagement and attention are currency, and on ManyVids, AI generated models sell content alongside humans. The platform prohibits “AI-generated or deepfake content that misrepresents real individuals without consent,” as part of its terms that forbid “content that violates any third party's intellectual property rights or another individual's privacy.”
“The AI/intense spirituality path has been so strange to witness, and I can’t imagine what it’s leaving the fans to think,” Elizabeth Fields, an adult content creator who’s used ManyVids for six years, told 404 Media. “I don’t understand what they are trying to do by taking this direction, nor do I understand how it’s fair of a sexwork built site to assume all of us don’t want to do NSFW content–and to try and funnel us into this box of ‘not enjoying the work we do. To an extent it feels degrading honestly—just because Bella’s experience in sex work was survival based and to make ends meet—a lot of us thoroughly enjoy our jobs, the path we took, and want to continue doing this.”
Many sex workers are disabled, neurodivergent, mentally ill, chronically ill, or “all of the above,” Fields noted, and rely on online sex work to pay the bills. “It feels absolutely unfair to feel like we could be pushed off of a site that became popular off OUR NSFW content—because they want to make it more SFW, and implement all these new AI features that will quite frankly just turn clients off.”
Despite all of this, Fields said she won’t be leaving the site. “To the point that as much as I'm extremely disappointed with many of the recent changes occurring, I won’t be deleting my account as to not lose that income and disappoint my ManyVids fans.”
Others are done. Sydney Screams said she’s no longer uploading to ManyVids and made the decision to slowly start removing content from her stores there. “Platforms that allow for online sex work should be working FOR us, not against us. Sex workers use platforms like MV to earn our own living, to enable ourselves to have better lives, to keep ourselves housed and fed, to pay for medical bills, etc. Many of us choose this life and choose to make this our career, though there are far too many who are survival sex workers,” Screams said. “We aren't looking for a pathway out of the adult industry, especially on a platform that is a porn platform!!! Unless MV is going to start funding the educations & trainings of those trying to leave the industry for work elsewhere, I do not see how a porn platform is going to create a path out of the industry.”
Emanuel Maiberg contributed reporting to this story.
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Hundreds of AI GILF erotica are flooding Xvideos and Manyvids.Emanuel Maiberg (404 Media)
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