Coalf

Hello, I am an aurora artist and this is my art. I posted this piece of art in the discord, I was not warned or told it was inappropriate for the server. At a later date, I was approached by Weezy who asked me for some images, I gave him this one as well as others, since I believe it reflects the Tajara lore well. Mainly in regards to how dark it can go. (After all I wrote some of it!) I personally disagree with the assessment that it's too gorey. However, I understand if people are feeling squeamish over it and don't enjoy seeing it. Thus, if the admin decision comes to it being too much, I'd be fine with editing out the blood splatter and simply leaving in the implication of the bullet.

This is enough of a justification to suspend their usage. As you said, Wiki has always erred on the side of caution since time immemorial. And as you said image creation is not a requirement for the wiki, nor to join the staff. So there won't be a big loss for suspending them. We've always banned the use of images from Google specifically because we cannot guarantee we have permission for their usage. Similarly, we cannot guarantee any of the images Cael generated on the Port Antilla page were made by him. There is no signature on the artwork itself, besides it being obvious it was generated. He does not have any files proving he made it, nor can we ask the artist. And I doubt he has screenshots of himself generating that content. For all we know he found these AI generated images on Google, put them on the wiki, and said "made by Dreamjourney" or whatever the software is. I am not saying he did so. But it's an unnecessary risk we're setting up ourselves for. This is a huge vulnerability, mainly now when copyright bots are rampant. As you said, the server owners are the ones who are going to face legal trouble, not the person who uploads these. Outside of that, to re-iterate others points, insane aura loss. It's at this point proven that most people attribute obviously AI generated images to scams, grifters, and lazy/cheap businesses. The fact that none of the ugly-ass mangastudio images I made for Taj lore were ever the center of this many controversies speaks volumes about how little people value AI images over the shittiest artworks made by humans. Not to mention we have previously removed images because they created bad associations even if they were legal to use. As a Taj writer, I distinctly remember removing the WW2 propaganda images of nazis and soviets portrayed as cats, because it created a bad association with the species. Even though those images were by that time in public commons and thus allowed. For flavor, this is a conspiracy theory and I have no way to prove it. But ever since the playerbase has started enaging more and more with AI art, AI articles and AI generated whitelist applications. There has been an exponential increase in bots that prowl this forum. There have always been "waves" of bots. But now they stick around and obviously read anything we post here. I frankly think it is absolutely bizzare that aurora is batting for this at all. It's already had an internal discussion on this in the past, it was decided to not allow it for reasons stated above. Cael was told multiple times not to do it, it's disappointing he had done it by the time I quit. It's my fault for not writing that down as head wiki dev at the time as I could have prevented this entire frankly stupid headache. But I suspect it would have been ignored anyway even if I had written it down. And to put things in context. The entire face of the wiki was created from scratch by Kyres. The aurora lobby flashes images made by artists, commissioned or free, from the community. The wiki is littered by works from me, for lore I wasn't even part of or after I had left staff. The entire Unathi page glistens with Wolfies art. Hell, the heads of Idris? Zavod? NT? Made by Lancer in mspaint using mouse and keyboard. Not to mention the numerous small artworks and graphic designs people have made in gimp or photoshop. And of course, the innumerable sprites made by volunteers from every part of the world, dedicated spriters. Hell the code itself! Generations of coders building off of each other's backs to make this server what it is. All of this was made voluntarily, donated voluntarily. I think it's hyena-like behavior to continuously take from a community and then refuse to simply remove a few images you yourself claim are "unimportant". Finally, if you haven't read any of the above. I don't hold it against you. Shits long and boring. But I want you to read this lower part. In Unathi lore there is a page called "Unathi Guilds". On top of that page, is one painting that Wolfie made. I watched her make it in a stream. It's not her best work, and she'd be the first to admit it. But it's hers, it is there, and it will always be hers no matter what names you change on it. Writer, artist, very controversial figure, and roleplayer, nevertheless she contributed what she could. Beneath it is the Heph logo, made by Nursiekitty, an iconic logo for an iconic company. She was a moderator, admin, and contributor, and the name of her character is still immortalized as the first person to ever encounter Vaurca. Beneath these two images rest three more. The first one made by "StarryAI" is large, but kept very small, I assume so it is harder to notice the vague nonsensical smear square shape in the middle of it. I guess the free trial ran out before it could be generated out. Even lower, two images by "NightCafe", 200x200 pixels large. Did the free version not provide bigger ones? Or were they shrunken this way? Maybe they're just thumbnails saved off of google images, and that's why they're so small and low quality? I don't know, I can't talk to the computer. But neither of these AI's ever was in the community. Noone here talked to them. Neither of them know what Aurora is. I doubt anyone here even knows these two companies existed (or if they still exist). I think I'd be on the side of the first two rather than the latter two.

Not related to Aurora, I'm just proud of these Mike Mignola studies:

Uploaded all art into gallery since I forgot my password lol.

New art roasted and posted in my gallery. See above.

Scientists Caught; Tajani Launch Revealed to be Sabotage! 14.01.2464 Last year a collective of brilliant PRA scientists alongside a foreign aid from the Federation dared to see above the skies and launch a new satellite into orbit. In the name of advancement, the people, and the PRA. However, bad tongues shared this brilliance with those who should have not heard, and Raskaran pens signed the documents that invited the two saboteurs into the midst of the brilliant science team. They have eluded the brilliant police force, until a week ago. While the arrest was carried out seven days ago, the information was not shared until today, out of fear of interference. According to the freshly published report, Ilvyat Kraschim and his wife Vladya were identified by a local samaritan, and their location, the house of the spouse’s mother, was reported by a neighbor. Both have been rewarded for their service to the government. After the criminals were located, officers forced their way inside. Despite the officers announcing their intent to arrest them peacefully, Vladya, her father, her mother, and her brother all violently resisted arrest. The officers were forced to defend themselves with lethal force and neutralize the threats. Ilvyat Kraschim was not present and was captured later in a local shop, he was compliant and his arrest was peaceful. The onlookers applauded the bravery of the officers as the entire arrest went off without a hitch. Today, the authorities released a signed and recorded confession of Ilvyat Kraschim. They will show the transcript here: The Adhomai Chronicle would like to congratulate the diligent agents of PSIS and government police in catching these perpetrators. Hadii’s Grace!

Free Weekend? We Got Your Back! You wake up, it’s 8 in the morning and you have a rare free Sunday, what now? Well, worry not, because we at Times Culture have your backs. Our reporters and journalists have gone into the streets to fish out the hottest and newest hits. Some are so hot, you might burn yourself on them, so be careful! First off is the new-old, old-new band, Bloodstorm! That’s right, our favorite Tajara band is going to be releasing a hit new album. The title? New World Gods! They promise it’ll be as rage fuelled as their previous hits, taking shots at the newly formed SCC and primarily at Nanotrasen, ouch! The spokesman for the band, Vargir Stenovich elaborated to our journalists. For all fans interested, their first concert will be hosted in the District 6 Arena with police oversight to prevent any hostilities, in just 3 days! However, we have an exclusive scoop that they’ll be performing various secret shows in undisclosed bars and locations. Advisory: Skrell audiences are advised to avoid the district 6 Arena during the concert. Next up, brought to you from the famed Konymation studios, the seventh season of the animated series Stormman has finally been released in Tau Ceti! Here only a week after premiering on Konyang, life on the entire planet had practically been put on hold for a couple of days as everyone flocked to their screens to watch the ten brand new episodes! Don’t miss the masked hero as he once more dons his suit, harnessing the raw power of the stormy weather to avenge his loss from season six… and what else? Of course, to beat up those that try to stop him! Watch it now on ETX Network, exclusive distributors in Tau Ceti. Advisory: Mature audiences only. Contains scenes of violence and gore. After that, we’ve got some hot news straight from the Jargon Federation! Weshi Beshi, the idol behind such hits as ‘Feel My Wake’ and ‘Carry On’, has announced that they will be doing an online performance of their soon-to-be-released album ‘I Need’ next week. Weshi said in a dual Viv-ID and Chirper announcement that this performance will be streamed on all available services, and as an added bonus it will be performed almost entirely in Tau Ceti Basic! This will be the first major attempt by a Federation idol to reach a non-Skrell audience, so be sure to not miss out on this milestone! Links to the event will be shared on Weshi Beshi’s Viv-ID and Chirper pages.

Cultural Hour: New Act at the Royal Theater; Prince Oliinyk Handles Critique 13.12.2463 This week, the usual program at the Kaltir Royal Theater was interrupted as a new, sponsored act was scheduled to appear. Prince Serhiy Oliinyk, a long-term patron and supporter of the arts, was the one to schedule this change. While the gentry was upset at first at the modification of venue from inside to outside, after drinks and food were distributed, courtesy of the prince, the mood improved and the act could begin. On the menu? Crown Voices. Crown Voices are an all-female band, composed of Masha Il-Azura, Ilvya Kolovova, and I’sha S’rremich. The singing group was accompanied by a troupe crudely titled “The Underclass Brass”. Their voices rang out into the snow, as poorer Tajara who could not afford the venue flocked to the newly built wooden fences and barricades. A minor scene was caused as the constabulary was called, however, they could do very little as the close proximity of the venue to the day-to-day streets and living areas gave the ill-listeners an easy excuse to avoid trouble with the law. This was not the only gaffe that had happened that night, as multiple paying patrons left the venue, realizing that both the band and the singer trio did not include a single Njarir or noble. Among them another long-standing patron and lover of the arts, Count Tscherim Sanguszko, who had previously attempted to stop the play but was unable to due to his inebriated state. While at the time the trio and their band received a standing ovation both from members of lower nobility, and, to remind the reader, non-paying listeners, on the outskirts. The reviews which have recently arrived point towards a less positive reception among the academic crowds. A few excerpts will be featured here; purely to maintain neutrality and journalistic honesty. They would like to remind all readers that all copies of “Crown Voices” currently being distributed are not being sold by the Royal Theater Society. They are illegal copies and should not be purchased. For more information, visit the Royal Theater Society website.

Thank you for addressing my concerns.

Marlon showed a lot of courtesy in wanting to avoid mentioning individuals due to the hate they might receive, however, I will have to highlight myself as one of the aggressive individuals in the past specifically so people know where I am coming from. I also want to address Mofo's post, but that comes later. The Good Marlon is very active and an innovator. He approaches ideas in ways that I personally wouldn't think of. We're basically completely on the oppossite sides of how lore should be handled, but I think that is fine. Overtime I've come to appreciate different takes that people have and if they can defend them. Recently we had a discussion about the possibility of DPRA Transhumanists, and while I ultimately disagreed on the addittion on the account of it being a thematically inappropriate, the discussion was still interesting and made me think about ideas I would normally not think of. Marlon also writes very fast and can string a pleasant sentence together. While I dislike a lot of his old articles in terms of their subjects and atmosphere, they've always been very pleasant and easy to read. Something I struggle with myself, as most of my sentences are very unwieldy and square. The Bad I dislike Marlon's story framing. I think it's appropriate in certain contenxt, however, I feel like he is unable to write a proper and technical article. While yes, these can be boring, they also help differenciate the individual news outlets from each other. In the hands of Marlon, the atmosphere of pretty much every news article comes off exactly the same. The lore often feels more like Marlon talking to me, rather than any news actually happening. Often being unable to seperate his own vocabulary from that of the reporters. And as was mentioned, Aurora HAS changed, the lore is less silly and light-hearted and I personally enjoy that. Yes, I make jokes from time to time, Schlorrgo is a silly little thing and Varg being the head of a metal band is a reference. But ultimately, I try to reserve these jokes for a rainy day and when they won't stand out. But Marlon's joking tone often overtakes his entire writing, leading to dramatic moments fizzling out. The most controversial and pointed to one being the "I can't read the Turkey's mind". An attack on the president of Biesel that was, ultimately framed as a joke. Which makes it very difficult to take any subsequent threats to the president seriously. It's like, if in Alien when Kane approaches the egg, instead of a facehugger a balloon flies out, creating a farting reverb accross the cave. By all means, this completely deflates the tension and makes us question why we should be afraid of the next facehugger egg. I don't know if his writing has changed any, as the lore he has written is mostly wiki-based right now and I cannot access his google docs, it's privated. The Ugly Personally I do not like Marlon, I don't think I ever will. I can still work with most people I do not like, but I wouldn't like to work with Marlon. I have him blocked and last I checked he had me blocked, I do not plan on changing this due to our history and I don't expect him to either. This isn't an accusation of Marlon, or to tell you that he is unfit for the role of a deputy. I just want to say that I personally dislike him so people know that I am not an unbiased party. In conclusion, I do not support Marlon's acceptance into the team. But if he does get accepted, I will have no issue with him staying there, provided he keeps to the deputy position. Now, for the second part, adressing mofo: Marlon was not demoted "Chiefly and mainly" for the Skrell deputy fiasco. It was one of the last things that happened in a continous series of mismanagements, poor communication between the heads and general disinterest to address issues due to favoritism. You yourself were part of the backlash and agreed with me on multiple points when I brought them up as issues. The fact I made a staff complaint against Marlon, which did go through, confirms issues were present that the staff was acknowledging. Mofo, around half the lore staff team threatened to step down if he was not demoted, this wasn't a small oopsie, there were a lot of people who agreed that there were issues with his management. Did a lot of people step out of line and act aggressively for no reason at all? Yes, I was one of them. Did a lot of people dogpile Marlon in the end? Yes. (I will not comment about the metadiscord, I was not a part of it but I did see the screenshots when they were posted in the lore channel) Was a lot of what happened childish? Yes. But were there genuine issues that went un-adressed for a long time? In the end, yes. It wasn't all unjustified hate and vitriol, it boiled over into hate and vitriol because a large part of the team (including you) dragged their feet and belittled these issues whenever they were brought up. It's the main reason why everything spiralled out of control, because there was a LOT of people complaining and they were being consistently shoved aside. And yes, there WERE complaints about his writing (As you point out yourself there still are), there WERE complaints about his personality (You yourself literally had to intervene in the past because because Marlon started calling me a "bad person" and "arguing in bad faith" over a lore disagreement BEFORE all of this drama even started). Maybe the reason you still think nobody had issues with those two things, is because you ignored them. You were not a passive observer as you like to frame yourself, you were a Lore Writer Master Deputy, you were very much in the middle of this and know very well just how many people brought up genuine issues. I have to question your agenda here. Because this is less of a defence of Jackboot and more of an indictement of your own behaviours. You are aware of these rumours being an issue, you say so yourself, but you have done absolutely nothing to deal with them in any way. Yes you are busy, I don't expect you to patrol the discord, forum and OOC 24/7, but you are a head. You can make announcements, you can talk to the admin team, you can talk to the lore team about this. In the end you did nothing to actually deal with this "Boogeyman" despite being aware of it. The reason people shit-talked Marlon, TO YOU, IS because you made no effort to defend him in any way. People look at how you behaved and how you behave and assume you also disliked Marlon, because you haven't done really anything to disspell that notion. Now, it has been 2-3 years, the dust has settled, not many people know what happened and those that do have incomplete logs or only parts of the story. I don't believe this post contributed anything to the conversation, besides serving as the most safe and lukewarm defence of your own behaviour to the person you call "a dear and close friend, mentor, and role model". Do I think he was a terrible manager? Yes, I did and I still do. I am not trying to excuse the things I said and did, they were dirty, under-handed and a plain character assassination. I regret how I did things, not why I did them. Does this mean anything for his deputy position? No, I think what Marlon's managerial skills should not influence his deputy application. The two are completely different. While I have my personal reasons to dislike him, I don't believe his skills as a manager should be held against him in this case. Why'd I post this then? Because I believe Mofo was purposefully misleading to excuse and downplay the mistakes he and Marlon made in the past. Rejoining/Being Unbanned/Joining the team is about showing one has learned from mistakes, I've personally had to go through a lot of growth to get back into the team and I still slip up from time to time. But every time I did I was either warned or told to knock it off. With this post, I don't believe Mofo would be capable of properly moderating Marlon's behaviour. I do not hold it against Marlon, who most likely didn't know about this at all he and Mofo are two completely different people and I do not blame him for this post. But it shows very clear bias, favoritism and nostalgia for him. I believe that if Marlon were to repeat his behaviour (not saying he will!), Mofo would do absolutely nothing to step in and we would have the exact same repeat of 2019.

Vote of Disclosure Fails; All Parties Outraged! This morning, an emergency vote was called by the Free Tajaran People's Party on the nature of the crashed object. Due to the extremely volatile nature of the event, there were nearly no absentees, with the exception of Ahem Kah’nrir who has been refusing all calls since the discovery of the crashed satellite. The vote? Declassify all known information about the recently crashed PRA satellite. The fighting started almost immediately, as a member of the Free Tajaran People’s Party physically shoved a member of the Blue Party after a heated debate before the building. When the proceedings arrived to the Assembly itself, the situation was no calmer, individual voices were nearly inaudible due to the heated discussion. The room, however, quieted down once Supreme Commander Nated stepped up to the podium to speak. The speaking order followed as usual, however, little attention was paid to the speakers as they were continuously interrupted by shouting and arguing from the other seats. The proceedings had to be halted multiple times before the National Assembly finally moved to the voting. In the end the motion to DO NOT DECLASSIFY won out. Denied by a majority vote which was only achievable by the Adhomai Blue Party switching at the last minute, when they were promised the farmers and land which was damaged by the satellite would be recompensed. The minority supporting the disclosure primarily consisted of Free Tajaran Party and multiple Junta leaders. Ahem Kah’nrir was absent. However, it appeared that the vote was divisive within the parties themselves, as many members of the denying majority stormed out angry, seemingly displeased with their own party’s decision. A peculiar sight was the quiet Commander Kahan Hro’rammhad who had voted “Yes” on the disclosure, he seemed to be particularly upset, shaking his head fervently as he exited the building. Readers will note, Commander Hro’rammhad had previously unanimously supported decisions made by Supreme Commander Nated. While it is too early for predictions, experts and political analysts state that this could mark a shift in the political climate and that the current approach has gained the anti-war tent “many more enemies than they anticipated”.

Shumaila utilizing girl power.