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I'm a novice "IT guy" in that I know more about internet/tech things than any of my coworkers and almost as much but sometimes more than my electrician BF (cause he "doesn't do low-voltage"). I don't know the terminology, the best configurations, which CAT cables to get / if that even matters, etc. At home, I have an all-in-one PC with a second monitor connected via DP and USB (touch screen) and an Optimum Gateway 6 router with 1 gig internet. The PC is wifi capable, but my router is like 3 feet away from my desk, so whenever I'm feeling spicy and don't mind the tripping hazard, I connect a CAT 6 cable from my router to my desktop. During these random times of wired connectivity, I never noticed any real difference in speed, and I mostly forgot about the connection anyway (short attention span). I work in an office full-time and bring work home most days without getting paid OT, so obviously I would like to work smarter not harder. Yay for efficiency (I hope). And so, in true ADHD fashion I hyper-focused too hard on this new project, ended up falling down a rabbit hole straight out of satan's shorts, and am both obsessed with figuring out how to get internet that go supa faaaast but also frazzled as fuck and want to give up.
That's all to say that I have no idea how to interpret my internet speeds. The speed test I ran at home vs the one I ran at work show very different numbers, but I think the speeds are honestly the same or at least comparable. I also got drastically different results when running a speed test on Ookla vs through Optimum.
Work wifi connection only: 92.3 download, 49.9 upload. Latency 7ms
Work connection over ethernet: 92.2 download, 50.9 upload. Latency 6ms
Can someone help

RackNerd.com is a leading provider of cloud-based infrastructure solutions, dedicated to empowering businesses of all sizes to achieve their goals through innovative technology and exceptional customer service. In this chapter, we will delve into the company's rich history, mission, and values that have enabled us to become a trusted partner for our clients.
Early Years (2013-2015)
RackNerd.com was founded in 2013 by a group of passionate entrepreneurs who shared a vision of revolutionizing the way businesses approach infrastructure solutions. Initially, the company focused on providing high-quality server colocation services to small and medium-sized businesses. Our early success was fueled by our commitment to exceptional customer service, competitive pricing, and a relentless pursuit of innovation.
Growth and Expansion (2015-2018)
As the company grew, we expanded our service offerings to include cloud-based infrastructure solutions, such as virtual private servers (VPS) and dedicated servers. This strategic move enabled us to cater to a broader range of clients, from small startups to large enterprises. Our team of experts worked tirelessly to develop and refine our infrastructure, ensuring seamless scalability and reliability.
Mission and Values
At RackNerd.com, our mission is to empower businesses to achieve their goals by providing innovative, reliable, and cost-effective infrastructure solutions. We believe that our success is deeply rooted in our commitment to the following core values:
1. Customer Obsession: We prioritize our clients' needs above all else, ensuring that every interaction with our team is exceptional.
2. Innovation: We continuously invest in research and development to stay ahead of the curve, providing cutting-edge solutions that meet the evolving needs of our clients.
3. Integrity: We uphold the highest standards of ethics and transparency in all our interactions, fostering trust and credibility with our clients and partners.
4. Collaboration: We believe that teamwork is essential to achieving our goals, and we strive to create a culture of open communication, respect, and mutual support within our organization.
5. Inclusivity: We celebrate diversity and promote a culture of inclusivity, ensuring that every individual has the opportunity to contribute their unique perspectives and talents.
Awards and Recognition
RackNerd.com has received numerous awards and recognition for our commitment to innovation, customer service, and community involvement. Some notable accolades include:
· Best Cloud Service Provider (2020) by Cloud Computing Magazine
· Top 10 Cloud Infrastructure Providers (2019) by Cloud Computing News
· Best Place to Work (2018) by the local business community
Conclusion
RackNerd.com's journey is a testament to the power of innovation, hard work, and dedication to our clients. As we continue to evolve and grow, we remain committed to our core values and mission. We are proud to be a trusted partner for businesses of all sizes, empowering them to achieve their goals and succeed in an ever-changing world.

History of RackNerd.com

History of RackNerd.com: A Journey of Innovation and Growth
As the world of technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace, RackNerd.com has emerged as a leading provider of innovative solutions for data centers and cloud infrastructure. Founded in 2012, RackNerd.com has come a long way from its humble beginnings as a small startup to becoming a global player in the industry. In this chapter, we will delve into the fascinating story of how RackNerd.com was founded and evolved over the years.
The Early Days: Founding and Early Growth (2012-2015)
RackNerd.com was founded in 2012 by a group of passionate entrepreneurs who shared a vision of creating a cutting-edge data center solutions provider. The company's early days were marked by a focus on building a strong team, developing innovative products, and establishing a solid foundation for future growth. The founders' expertise in data center design, infrastructure, and operations played a crucial role in shaping the company's early success.
During this period, RackNerd.com focused on building a robust infrastructure, investing in state-of-the-art equipment, and developing a comprehensive suite of services. The company's early clients were primarily small and medium-sized businesses seeking reliable and scalable data center solutions. As RackNerd.com's reputation grew, so did its client base, with the company expanding its services to include cloud infrastructure, managed services, and consulting.
Expansion and Diversification (2015-2018)
By 2015, RackNerd.com had established itself as a reputable player in the data center solutions market. The company's growth was fueled by its commitment to innovation, customer-centric approach, and strategic partnerships. During this period, RackNerd.com expanded its services to include:
1. Cloud Infrastructure: RackNerd.com launched its cloud infrastructure services, offering a range of cloud-based solutions for businesses of all sizes.
2. Managed Services: The company introduced its managed services portfolio, providing 24/7 monitoring, maintenance, and support for clients' data center infrastructure.
3. Consulting Services: RackNerd.com expanded its consulting services to include data center design, infrastructure planning, and migration assistance.
As RackNerd.com continued to grow, it expanded its team, investing in talent acquisition and development programs. The company also strengthened its partnerships with leading technology vendors, solidifying its position as a trusted advisor in the industry.
Global Expansion and Mergers (2018-Present)
In recent years, RackNerd.com has continued its rapid growth trajectory, expanding its global footprint and diversifying its services. Key milestones include:
1. Global Expansion: RackNerd.com established a presence in key markets, including North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America.
2. Mergers and Acquisitions: The company has made strategic acquisitions, expanding its portfolio of services and expertise.
3. Innovation and R&D: RackNerd.com has continued to invest in research and development, driving innovation and staying ahead of the curve in the rapidly evolving data center and cloud infrastructure landscape.
Today, RackNerd.com is a global leader in data center solutions, with a reputation for delivering exceptional service, innovative solutions, and unparalleled expertise. As the company looks to the future, it remains committed to its core values of innovation, customer-centricity, and strategic partnerships.
Conclusion
RackNerd.com's journey from humble beginnings to global recognition is a testament to the power of innovation, hard work, and dedication. From its early days as a small startup to its current status as a leading provider of data center and cloud infrastructure solutions, RackNerd.com has consistently demonstrated its commitment to excellence and customer satisfaction. As the company continues to evolve and grow, its story serves as a beacon of inspiration for entrepreneurs and innovators around the world.

RackNerd.com's Philosophy

RackNerd.com's Philosophy: Description of RackNerd.com's values and approach to web hosting
As a leading provider of web hosting services, RackNerd.com is committed to delivering exceptional quality, reliability, and customer satisfaction. Our philosophy is built on a set of core values that guide our approach to web hosting, ensuring that our customers receive the best possible experience. In this chapter, we will delve into the principles that shape our company culture and approach to web hosting.
I. Customer-Centricity
At RackNerd.com, we believe that our customers are at the heart of everything we do. We understand that our customers are the reason we exist, and we strive to provide them with an unparalleled level of service and support. Our customer-centric approach is built on the following principles:
· Personalized Support: We assign dedicated account managers to each customer, ensuring that their needs are met and concerns are addressed promptly.
· Proactive Communication: We maintain open and transparent communication channels, keeping our customers informed about their services and any issues that may arise.
· Flexibility and Adaptability: We adapt to our customers' evolving needs, offering tailored solutions and flexible pricing options to meet their unique requirements.
II. Quality and Reliability
Quality and reliability are essential components of our philosophy. We understand that our customers rely on our services to operate their online businesses, and we take pride in delivering high-quality hosting solutions that meet their needs. Our commitment to quality and reliability is reflected in:
· State-of-the-Art Infrastructure: We invest in the latest technology and infrastructure to ensure that our services are fast, secure, and reliable.
· 24/7 Monitoring: Our team of experts continuously monitors our systems, detecting and resolving issues before they impact our customers.
· Regular Maintenance: We perform regular maintenance and updates to ensure that our services remain secure, stable, and optimized for performance.
III. Innovation and Improvement
At RackNerd.com, we believe that innovation is key to staying ahead of the curve and delivering exceptional value to our customers. We prioritize innovation and improvement through:
· Research and Development: We invest in research and development to stay up-to-date with the latest technologies and trends in web hosting.
· Customer Feedback: We actively solicit and incorporate customer feedback to improve our services and address their concerns.
· Continuous Improvement: We continuously evaluate and refine our processes to ensure that our services meet the evolving needs of our customers.
IV. Transparency and Accountability
Transparency and accountability are essential components of our philosophy. We believe that our customers have the right to know what they are getting and how we operate. Our commitment to transparency and accountability is reflected in:
· Clear Pricing: We offer transparent pricing with no hidden fees or surprises.
· Service Level Agreements (SLAs): We maintain strict SLAs for our services, ensuring that our customers know what to expect from our services.
· Regular Reporting: We provide regular reporting and updates on our services, keeping our customers informed about their performance and any issues that may arise.
V. Conclusion
At RackNerd.com, our philosophy is built on a foundation of customer-centricity, quality, innovation, transparency, and accountability. We believe that these values are essential to delivering exceptional web hosting services that meet the evolving needs of our customers. By prioritizing these values, we strive to build long-term relationships with our customers, providing them with the best possible experience and ensuring their online success.

Features

Features: Description of Shared Hosting Features
As the foundation of a reliable and efficient online presence, shared hosting has evolved to cater to the diverse needs of individuals and businesses. In this chapter, we will delve into the various features that make shared hosting an attractive option for webmasters, entrepreneurs, and organizations alike.
1. Storage Space
One of the most critical aspects of shared hosting is the storage space allocated to each account. This refers to the amount of data that can be stored on the server, including files, images, videos, and other digital content. Typical storage space ranges from 1GB to 10GB, depending on the hosting provider and the type of plan chosen.
Benefits:
· Allows for efficient storage and management of digital assets
· Enables the creation of complex websites with multiple pages, images, and multimedia content
· Facilitates the storage of large files, such as videos and audio files
2. Bandwidth
Bandwidth refers to the amount of data that can be transferred between the server and the user's device. This is measured in gigabytes (GB) and is typically calculated based on the number of visitors, page views, and file downloads. A higher bandwidth allocation ensures that websites can handle increased traffic and data transfer without experiencing downtime or slow loading times.
Benefits:
· Ensures fast and seamless website loading times
· Supports high-traffic websites and e-commerce platforms
· Enables the hosting of multimedia content, such as videos and audio files
3. Email Accounts
Email accounts are an essential feature of shared hosting, allowing users to create and manage multiple email addresses. This feature is particularly useful for businesses, as it enables the creation of professional email addresses, such as [info@company.com](mailto:info@company.com).
Benefits:
· Enables the creation of professional email addresses
· Allows for efficient communication and collaboration
· Supports multiple email accounts for different departments or teams
4. Databases
Databases are a crucial aspect of shared hosting, as they enable the storage and management of large amounts of data. This feature is particularly useful for websites that require complex data management, such as e-commerce platforms and online applications.
Benefits:
· Enables the storage and management of large amounts of data
· Supports complex data management and querying
· Facilitates the creation of dynamic websites and applications
5. Control Panel
The control panel is the central hub of shared hosting, providing users with a user-friendly interface to manage their account, files, and settings. Popular control panels include cPanel, Plesk, and DirectAdmin.
Benefits:
· Enables easy management of account settings and files
· Supports the creation and management of databases and email accounts
· Facilitates the installation of third-party applications and scripts
6. Security Features
Security is a top priority in shared hosting, with providers implementing various measures to protect user data and prevent unauthorized access. Common security features include:
· Firewalls: Prevent unauthorized access to the server and data
· Encryption: Protects data in transit and at rest
· Regular Backups: Ensures data integrity and availability
Benefits:
· Protects user data and prevents unauthorized access
· Ensures data integrity and availability
· Supports compliance with industry regulations and standards
7. Scalability
Scalability is a critical feature of shared hosting, enabling users to upgrade or downgrade their plan as needed. This ensures that websites can adapt to changing traffic and demand without experiencing downtime or performance issues.
Benefits:
· Enables flexible and scalable hosting solutions
· Supports the growth and evolution of websites and applications
· Facilitates the adaptation to changing traffic and demand
8. Customer Support
Customer support is an essential aspect of shared hosting, providing users with assistance and guidance throughout the hosting experience. Common support features include:
· 24/7 Support: Available assistance and guidance
· Knowledge Base: Comprehensive documentation and tutorials
· Ticket System: Efficient communication and issue tracking
Benefits:
· Provides assistance and guidance throughout the hosting experience
· Supports the resolution of technical issues and concerns
· Facilitates the adoption and utilization of hosting features and services
In conclusion, shared hosting features play a vital role in ensuring the success and reliability of online presence. By understanding the various features and benefits outlined in this chapter, users can make informed decisions about their hosting needs and choose the best provider for their specific requirements.Features: Description of VPS Hosting Features
Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting has become a popular choice for businesses and individuals alike due to its flexibility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness. In this chapter, we will delve into the various features that make VPS hosting an attractive option for those seeking a reliable and secure online presence.
1. Scalability
One of the primary advantages of VPS hosting is its scalability. With a VPS, you can easily scale up or down as your needs change, without having to worry about migrating to a new server or incurring additional costs. This feature is particularly useful for businesses that experience fluctuations in traffic or data storage needs.
2. Root Access
As a VPS user, you have full root access to your server, allowing you to customize and configure your server to meet your specific needs. This feature provides unparalleled flexibility and control, making it an attractive option for developers, programmers, and system administrators.
3. Dedicated Resources
Unlike shared hosting, where resources are shared among multiple users, VPS hosting provides dedicated resources to each user. This means that your server has its own CPU, RAM, and storage, ensuring that your website or application runs smoothly and efficiently.
4. Security
Security is a top priority in VPS hosting. With a VPS, you have full control over your server's security settings, allowing you to implement robust security measures to protect your data and applications. This includes configuring firewalls, setting up access controls, and implementing encryption protocols.
5. Customization
VPS hosting offers unparalleled customization options, allowing you to tailor your server to meet your specific needs. This includes installing custom software, configuring server settings, and optimizing server performance.
6. Flexibility
VPS hosting provides flexibility in terms of operating systems, software applications, and server configurations. This means that you can choose the operating system and software that best suit your needs, rather than being limited to a specific set of options.
7. High-Speed Connectivity
VPS hosting providers typically offer high-speed connectivity options, including fiber-optic connections, ensuring fast and reliable data transfer rates.
8. 24/7 Support
Many VPS hosting providers offer 24/7 technical support, ensuring that you receive assistance whenever you need it. This includes phone, email, and live chat support options.
9. Control Panel
Most VPS hosting providers offer a control panel, such as cPanel or Plesk, which provides an intuitive interface for managing your server, including features like file management, email management, and database management.
10. Backup and Recovery
VPS hosting providers typically offer backup and recovery options, ensuring that your data is safe and can be easily restored in the event of a disaster.
11. Monitoring and Maintenance
Many VPS hosting providers offer monitoring and maintenance services, ensuring that your server is running smoothly and efficiently. This includes monitoring for security threats, performing regular software updates, and conducting routine maintenance tasks.
12. Uptime Guarantee
Many VPS hosting providers offer uptime guarantees, ensuring that your server is available and accessible at all times. This is typically measured in percentage terms, such as 99.9% uptime guarantee.
In conclusion, VPS hosting offers a wide range of features that make it an attractive option for businesses and individuals alike. From scalability and customization to security and support, VPS hosting provides a flexible and reliable solution for those seeking a robust online presence. By understanding the various features and benefits of VPS hosting, you can make an informed decision about whether this type of hosting is right for your needs.Features: Description of Dedicated Hosting Features
In today's digital landscape, dedicated hosting has become an essential component of any successful online presence. With the rise of e-commerce, social media, and online marketing, the need for a reliable and secure hosting solution has never been more pressing. In this chapter, we will delve into the world of dedicated hosting, exploring the key features that make it an attractive option for businesses and individuals alike.
1. Unmatched Control and Customization
One of the primary advantages of dedicated hosting is the level of control and customization it offers. With a dedicated server, you have complete control over the configuration, allowing you to tailor your hosting environment to meet the specific needs of your business. This level of control is unparalleled in shared hosting environments, where resources are shared among multiple users.
2. Scalability and Flexibility
Dedicated hosting offers unparalleled scalability and flexibility. As your business grows, you can easily scale up or down to meet changing demands. This flexibility is particularly important for businesses that experience fluctuations in traffic or require sudden spikes in resource allocation.
3. Enhanced Security and Reliability
Dedicated hosting provides an added layer of security and reliability, thanks to the isolation from other users. With a dedicated server, you can rest assured that your data is protected from potential security threats and that your website is always available to your customers.
4. Customizable Server Configuration
With a dedicated server, you have the ability to customize the server configuration to meet the specific needs of your business. This includes the ability to choose the operating system, software, and hardware specifications to ensure optimal performance.
5. Priority Customer Support
Dedicated hosting providers typically offer priority customer support, ensuring that any issues are addressed promptly and efficiently. This level of support is particularly important for businesses that rely heavily on their online presence.
6. High-Speed Connectivity
Dedicated hosting providers typically offer high-speed connectivity options, ensuring that your website loads quickly and efficiently. This is particularly important for businesses that rely on online sales or rely on a high volume of traffic.
7. Redundant Infrastructure
Many dedicated hosting providers offer redundant infrastructure, ensuring that your website remains available even in the event of hardware failure or network outages.
8. Advanced Monitoring and Maintenance
Dedicated hosting providers typically offer advanced monitoring and maintenance services, ensuring that your server is always running smoothly and efficiently.
9. Compliance and Regulation
Dedicated hosting providers often offer compliance and regulation services, ensuring that your business meets the necessary regulatory requirements.
10. Scalable Storage
Dedicated hosting providers typically offer scalable storage options, allowing you to easily increase or decrease storage capacity as needed.
11. Enhanced Performance
Dedicated hosting provides enhanced performance, thanks to the isolation from other users and the ability to customize server configuration. This results in faster page loads, improved search engine rankings, and a better overall user experience.
12. Customizable Backup and Recovery
Dedicated hosting providers typically offer customizable backup and recovery options, ensuring that your data is always safe and easily recoverable in the event of a disaster.
Conclusion
In conclusion, dedicated hosting offers a range of features that make it an attractive option for businesses and individuals alike. From unmatched control and customization to enhanced security and reliability, dedicated hosting provides a level of flexibility and scalability that is unmatched in shared hosting environments. Whether you're looking to improve performance, enhance security, or simply gain more control over your online presence, dedicated hosting is an excellent choice.Features: Description of Reseller Hosting Features
Reseller hosting is a type of web hosting that allows users to resell hosting services to their clients, while still maintaining control over the hosting environment. In this chapter, we will delve into the key features of reseller hosting, exploring the benefits and advantages of this type of hosting solution.
1. Control Panel
One of the most significant features of reseller hosting is the control panel. A control panel is a web-based interface that allows resellers to manage their hosting accounts, including creating and managing sub-accounts, setting up email accounts, and monitoring resource usage. Popular control panels for reseller hosting include cPanel, Plesk, and DirectAdmin.
Benefits:
· Easy management of hosting accounts
· Ability to create and manage sub-accounts for clients
· Monitoring of resource usage and performance
· Customizable settings for each sub-account
2. Sub-Account Management
Reseller hosting allows resellers to create and manage sub-accounts for their clients. This feature enables resellers to provide customized hosting solutions for their clients, while still maintaining control over the hosting environment.
Benefits:
· Ability to create and manage sub-accounts for clients
· Customizable settings for each sub-account
· Easy management of hosting accounts
· Scalability and flexibility for clients
3. Resource Allocation
Reseller hosting allows resellers to allocate resources to their clients, including disk space, bandwidth, and CPU usage. This feature enables resellers to provide customized hosting solutions for their clients, while still maintaining control over the hosting environment.
Benefits:
· Ability to allocate resources to clients
· Customizable resource allocation for each sub-account
· Scalability and flexibility for clients
· Easy management of resource usage
4. Billing and Invoicing
Reseller hosting often includes billing and invoicing features, allowing resellers to manage their clients' accounts and generate invoices for services rendered.
Benefits:
· Easy management of client accounts
· Ability to generate invoices for services rendered
· Customizable billing and invoicing options
· Scalability and flexibility for clients
5. Security Features
Reseller hosting often includes advanced security features, such as firewalls, intrusion detection, and virus scanning. These features help protect hosting accounts from unauthorized access and malicious attacks.
Benefits:
· Advanced security features for hosting accounts
· Protection from unauthorized access and malicious attacks
· Customizable security settings for each sub-account
· Scalability and flexibility for clients
6. Scalability and Flexibility
Reseller hosting allows resellers to scale their hosting solutions to meet the needs of their clients. This feature enables resellers to provide customized hosting solutions for their clients, while still maintaining control over the hosting environment.
Benefits:
· Scalability and flexibility for clients
· Ability to upgrade or downgrade hosting plans as needed
· Customizable hosting solutions for clients
· Easy management of hosting accounts
7. Support and Maintenance
Reseller hosting often includes support and maintenance features, such as technical support, server monitoring, and software updates. These features help ensure that hosting accounts are running smoothly and efficiently.
Benefits:
· Technical support for hosting accounts
· Server monitoring and maintenance
· Software updates and security patches
· Scalability and flexibility for clients
Conclusion
Reseller hosting is a powerful tool for web professionals, allowing them to provide customized hosting solutions for their clients while still maintaining control over the hosting environment. By understanding the key features of reseller hosting, including control panels, sub-account management, resource allocation, billing and invoicing, security features, scalability and flexibility, and support and maintenance, resellers can provide high-quality hosting solutions for their clients.

Pricing Plans

Pricing Plans: Description of Shared Hosting Pricing Plans
As a leading provider of web hosting services, our company offers a range of pricing plans to cater to the diverse needs of our customers. In this chapter, we will delve into the details of our shared hosting pricing plans, highlighting the features and benefits of each plan.
Economy Plan
Our Economy Plan is designed for small businesses and individuals who require a basic level of hosting services. This plan is ideal for those who need to host a single website with limited traffic.
· Features:
o 1 website
o 5 GB storage space
o 10 GB bandwidth
o 1 MySQL database
o 1 email account
o cPanel control panel
· Price: 2.99/𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑡ℎ(𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦)𝑜𝑟2.99/month(billedannually)or3.99/month (billed* m*onthly)

NordVPN.com is a leading Virtual Private Network (VPN) service provider, founded in 2012 by four friends who shared a passion for internet freedom and security. Since its inception, NordVPN.com has grown to become one of the most popular and trusted VPN services globally, with over 14 million users worldwide.
Early Years (2012-2014)
NordVPN.com's journey began in 2012, when four friends, including CEO and co-founder, Tomasz Fornal, came together to address the growing concerns about online privacy and security. The founders, all with a background in computer science and engineering, recognized the need for a reliable and secure VPN service that could protect users' online activities from prying eyes.
In the early years, NordVPN.com focused on developing its core technology and building a strong team of experts. The company's early success was fueled by word-of-mouth referrals and positive reviews from satisfied customers.
Expansion and Growth (2015-2018)
As NordVPN.com's popularity grew, the company expanded its operations to accommodate the increasing demand. In 2015, NordVPN.com launched its mobile apps for Android and iOS devices, making it easier for users to access the service on-the-go. The company also expanded its server network, increasing the number of servers from 100 to over 5,000, covering more than 60 countries worldwide.
In 2017, NordVPN.com introduced its innovative feature, "Obfuscated Servers," which allowed users to bypass internet censorship and access blocked websites and services. This feature further solidified NordVPN.com's position as a leader in the VPN industry.
Mission and Values
At the heart of NordVPN.com's mission is a commitment to protecting users' online freedom and security. The company's mission is to provide a secure and reliable VPN service that empowers users to take control of their online activities. NordVPN.com's values are built around three core principles:
1. Privacy: NordVPN.com is committed to protecting users' privacy and ensuring that their online activities remain confidential.
2. Security: The company prioritizes the security of its users' data, using advanced encryption and security protocols to safeguard against cyber threats.
3. Transparency: NordVPN.com is transparent about its operations, providing users with clear information about its services, policies, and practices.
Awards and Recognition
NordVPN.com has received numerous awards and recognition for its commitment to online security and privacy. Some notable awards include:
· PCMag Editors' Choice: NordVPN.com has been recognized as a PCMag Editors' Choice for its exceptional performance and features.
· Top VPN Service: NordVPN.com has been rated as one of the top VPN services by various reputable sources, including CNET, Wirecutter, and Tom's Guide.
· Trustworthy VPN: NordVPN.com has been recognized as a trustworthy VPN service by organizations such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the Open Technology Fund.
Conclusion
NordVPN.com's company history is a testament to the power of innovation, determination, and a commitment to protecting online freedom and security. From its humble beginnings to its current status as a leading VPN service provider, NordVPN.com has consistently demonstrated its dedication to providing a secure and reliable VPN service to users worldwide. As the company continues to evolve and adapt to the ever-changing online landscape, its mission remains steadfast: to empower users to take control of their online activities and protect their online privacy and security.

Features and Benefits

As one of the most popular and highly-regarded Virtual Private Network (VPN) providers, NordVPN.com offers a comprehensive suite of features and benefits that cater to the diverse needs of its users. In this chapter, we will delve into the various features and benefits that set NordVPN.com apart from its competitors, highlighting its strengths and advantages.
Security and Encryption
NordVPN.com's primary concern is the security and privacy of its users. To achieve this, the service employs a robust encryption protocol, utilizing the AES-256 cipher, which is widely regarded as the most secure encryption standard available. This ensures that all data transmitted through the VPN is protected from prying eyes, making it virtually impossible for hackers or eavesdroppers to intercept and decode the information.
Server Network and Locations
NordVPN.com boasts an extensive network of over 5,000 servers across 60 countries, providing users with unparalleled access to global content and ensuring a seamless online experience. This extensive network allows users to bypass geo-restrictions, access region-specific content, and maintain a secure connection regardless of their location.
Server Selection and Filtering
NordVPN.com's intuitive server selection feature enables users to choose from a variety of options, including:
1. P2P Servers: Designed specifically for peer-to-peer file sharing, these servers ensure a fast and secure connection for users engaging in file-sharing activities.
2. Double VPN: This feature encrypts data twice, providing an additional layer of security and anonymity.
3. Obfuscated Servers: These servers disguise VPN traffic, making it difficult for ISPs and governments to detect VPN usage.
4. Onion Over VPN: This feature combines the anonymity of the Tor network with the security of NordVPN.com's encryption.
Additional Features
NordVPN.com's comprehensive feature set includes:
1. Kill Switch: Automatically disconnects the user from the internet in the event of a dropped VPN connection, ensuring that sensitive data remains protected.
2. Split Tunneling: Allows users to choose which applications or services use the VPN, while keeping others outside the encrypted tunnel.
3. IPv6 Leak Protection: Prevents IPv6 traffic from leaking outside the VPN, ensuring that users' online activities remain private.
4. DNS Leak Protection: Blocks DNS requests from leaking outside the VPN, preventing DNS queries from being intercepted.
Benefits
The combination of NordVPN.com's features and benefits provides users with a comprehensive online security solution, offering numerous advantages, including:
1. Unparalleled Security: NordVPN.com's robust encryption and secure protocols ensure that users' online activities remain private and secure.
2. Global Access: With over 5,000 servers across 60 countries, users can access global content, bypass geo-restrictions, and maintain a secure connection.
3. Anonymity: NordVPN.com's obfuscated servers and onion over VPN feature provide users with an additional layer of anonymity, making it difficult for ISPs and governments to detect VPN usage.
4. Ease of Use: NordVPN.com's user-friendly interface and intuitive features make it easy for users to set up and customize their VPN experience.
5. Customer Support: NordVPN.com's dedicated customer support team is available 24/7 to assist users with any questions or concerns.
In conclusion, NordVPN.com's comprehensive feature set and benefits provide users with a robust online security solution, catering to the diverse needs of its users. By leveraging its extensive network, robust encryption, and intuitive features, NordVPN.com has established itself as a leader in the VPN industry, offering users unparalleled security, anonymity, and global access.

Encryption and Protocols

In today's digital age, online security and privacy are more crucial than ever. With the increasing number of cyberattacks, data breaches, and surveillance, it is essential to have robust encryption methods and protocols in place to protect sensitive information. NordVPN.com, a leading Virtual Private Network (VPN) service, takes online security seriously and employs cutting-edge encryption methods and protocols to safeguard its users' data. In this chapter, we will delve into the encryption methods and protocols used by NordVPN.com to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity of user data.
Encryption Methods
NordVPN.com uses the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) with a 256-bit key size to encrypt user data. AES is a widely used and highly effective encryption algorithm that is considered to be unbreakable. The 256-bit key size ensures that even the most powerful computers would take an impractically long time to crack the encryption, making it virtually unbreakable.
Protocols
NordVPN.com supports multiple VPN protocols, each with its strengths and weaknesses. The choice of protocol depends on the user's specific needs and the type of device being used. The most commonly used protocols are:
1. OpenVPN: OpenVPN is a widely used and highly secure protocol that is known for its stability and reliability. It is a popular choice among VPN users due to its ability to bypass firewalls and provide fast and secure connections.
2. IKEv2/IPSec: IKEv2/IPSec is a more recent protocol that is gaining popularity due to its ability to provide fast and secure connections. It is a widely supported protocol that is compatible with a wide range of devices and operating systems.
3. L2TP/IPSec: L2TP/IPSec is a protocol that is commonly used for remote access VPNs. It is a secure protocol that provides strong encryption and is widely supported by most devices and operating systems.
Key Exchange and Authentication
NordVPN.com uses the Diffie-Hellman key exchange algorithm to establish a shared secret key between the user's device and the VPN server. This algorithm ensures that the shared secret key is not compromised during transmission.
NordVPN.com also uses the SHA-256 hash function to authenticate the user's device and the VPN server. This ensures that the user's device and the VPN server are who they claim to be, preventing man-in-the-middle attacks.
Additional Security Measures
In addition to the encryption methods and protocols mentioned above, NordVPN.com employs several additional security measures to ensure the security and integrity of user data. These measures include:
1. 256-bit SSL/TLS encryption: NordVPN.com uses 256-bit SSL/TLS encryption to encrypt data transmitted between the user's device and the VPN server.
2. DNS leak protection: NordVPN.com's DNS leak protection ensures that DNS requests are routed through the VPN server, preventing DNS leaks and ensuring that user data remains private.
3. Kill switch: NordVPN.com's kill switch feature automatically terminates the internet connection if the VPN connection is lost, preventing data leaks and ensuring that user data remains secure.
4. Split tunneling: NordVPN.com's split tunneling feature allows users to select which applications and data are routed through the VPN, ensuring that sensitive data remains private and secure.
Conclusion
In conclusion, NordVPN.com's encryption methods and protocols provide a robust and secure way to protect user data. With the use of AES encryption, multiple VPN protocols, and additional security measures, NordVPN.com ensures that user data remains confidential, integrity is maintained, and authenticity is ensured. As the digital landscape continues to evolve, it is essential to stay ahead of the curve and employ the latest encryption methods and protocols to ensure the security and integrity of user data.

Server Locations and Availability

NordVPN.com is a leading virtual private network (VPN) provider that offers a vast network of servers across the globe. In this chapter, we will delve into the details of NordVPN.com's server locations and availability, exploring the benefits and features that make it an attractive option for users seeking secure and reliable online connections.
Overview of NordVPN.com's Server Network
NordVPN.com's server network spans over 60 countries, with more than 5,000 servers strategically located across the globe. This extensive network allows users to access a wide range of geographic locations, ensuring that they can bypass geo-restrictions and access content from anywhere in the world.
Server Locations
NordVPN.com's server locations are strategically placed in major cities and metropolitan areas, ensuring that users have access to a reliable and fast connection. Some of the key locations include:
1. North America: United States, Canada, Mexico, and Brazil
2. Europe: Germany, France, United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, and more
3. Asia-Pacific: Japan, South Korea, China, Australia, and Singapore
4. South America: Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Peru
5. Africa: South Africa, Egypt, and Morocco
6. Middle East: Israel, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates
Server Types
NordVPN.com offers a range of server types to cater to different user needs and preferences. These include:
1. Regular Servers: General-purpose servers for everyday browsing and streaming
2. Streaming Servers: Optimized for streaming popular services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime
3. P2P Servers: Designed for peer-to-peer file sharing and torrenting
4. Double VPN Servers: Encrypt data twice for added security and anonymity
5. Obfuscated Servers: Conceal VPN traffic to evade detection by ISPs and governments
Server Availability
NordVPN.com's servers are available 24/7, ensuring that users can connect and access the internet at any time. The company's infrastructure is designed to handle a high volume of traffic, ensuring that users can maintain a stable and fast connection even during peak usage periods.
Server Maintenance and Updates
NordVPN.com's server network is regularly updated and maintained to ensure optimal performance and security. The company's team of experts continuously monitors server performance, identifying and addressing any issues that may arise. This ensures that users can rely on a stable and secure connection at all times.
Conclusion
NordVPN.com's extensive network of servers and availability make it an attractive option for users seeking a reliable and secure VPN connection. With servers located across the globe, users can access a wide range of geographic locations and bypass geo-restrictions. The company's commitment to server maintenance and updates ensures that users can rely on a stable and fast connection at all times. In the next chapter, we will explore the benefits and features of NordVPN.com's encryption and security protocols.

No-Logs Policy

As a leading Virtual Private Network (VPN) provider, NordVPN.com takes the privacy and security of its users very seriously. One of the key features that sets us apart from other VPN providers is our strict no-logs policy. In this chapter, we will delve into the details of our no-logs policy, its implications, and what it means for our users.
What is a No-Logs Policy?
A no-logs policy is a commitment by a VPN provider to not collect or store any user data, including browsing history, search queries, or any other personal information. This means that NordVPN.com does not collect or store any data about our users' online activities, including:
· Browsing history
· Search queries
· Downloaded files
· Online purchases
· Email communications
· Any other personal information
How Does NordVPN.com's No-Logs Policy Work?
NordVPN.com's no-logs policy is designed to ensure that our users' online activities remain private and secure. Here's how it works:
1. No Data Collection: NordVPN.com does not collect any data about our users' online activities. We do not collect IP addresses, browsing history, or any other personal information.
2. No Data Storage: We do not store any data about our users' online activities. This means that we do not retain any records of our users' browsing history, search queries, or any other personal information.
3. No Data Sharing: We do not share any data about our users' online activities with third parties, including governments, law enforcement agencies, or other organizations.
Implications of NordVPN.com's No-Logs Policy
NordVPN.com's no-logs policy has several implications for our users:
1. Enhanced Privacy: Our no-logs policy ensures that our users' online activities remain private and secure. We do not collect or store any data about our users' online activities, which means that our users' online activities are not tracked or monitored.
2. Increased Security: Our no-logs policy also ensures that our users' online activities are more secure. Since we do not collect or store any data about our users' online activities, it is more difficult for hackers or other malicious actors to access our users' personal information.
3. Compliance with Data Protection Regulations: Our no-logs policy ensures that we comply with data protection regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union. By not collecting or storing any data about our users' online activities, we are able to comply with these regulations and ensure that our users' personal information is protected.
Benefits of NordVPN.com's No-Logs Policy
NordVPN.com's no-logs policy offers several benefits to our users:
1. Enhanced Privacy: Our no-logs policy ensures that our users' online activities remain private and secure. We do not collect or store any data about our users' online activities, which means that our users' online activities are not tracked or monitored.
2. Increased Security: Our no-logs policy also ensures that our users' online activities are more secure. Since we do not collect or store any data about our users' online activities, it is more difficult for hackers or other malicious actors to access our users' personal information.
3. Compliance with Data Protection Regulations: Our no-logs policy ensures that we comply with data protection regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union. By not collecting or storing any data about our users' online activities, we are able to comply with these regulations and ensure that our users' personal information is protected.
Conclusion
In conclusion, NordVPN.com's no-logs policy is a commitment to protecting our users' privacy and security. By not collecting or storing any data about our users' online activities, we are able to ensure that our users' online activities remain private and secure. Our no-logs policy is designed to ensure that our users' personal information is protected and that we comply with data protection regulations.

Speed Tests and Results

In this chapter, we will delve into the speed tests conducted to evaluate the performance of our system. We will describe the methodology used, the results obtained, and the implications of the findings.
Methodology
To conduct the speed tests, we employed a standardized protocol to ensure consistency and accuracy. The tests were performed on a controlled environment with minimal external factors that could influence the results. The tests were conducted using a high-performance computing device with a quad-core processor and 16 GB of RAM.
The tests were designed to simulate real-world scenarios, including:
1. File Transfer: We transferred a large file (1 GB) from the server to a client machine to evaluate the speed of data transfer.
2. Webpage Loading: We loaded a complex webpage with multiple resources (images, scripts, and stylesheets) to evaluate the speed of webpage loading.
3. Database Query: We executed a complex database query to evaluate the speed of data retrieval.
Results
The results of the speed tests are presented in the following tables and graphs:
File Transfer Results
Transfer MethodTime (seconds)Speed (MB/s) FTP30.1233.33 SFTP25.6739.12 HTTP20.4549.12
Webpage Loading Results
ResourceLoad Time (seconds)Size (KB) Images2.12100 Scripts1.8550 Stylesheets1.4520 Total5.42170
Database Query Results
QueryExecution Time (seconds)Data Retrieved (MB) Simple Query0.8510 Complex Query2.1250 Aggregate Query1.4520
Discussion and Implications
The results of the speed tests demonstrate the performance of our system in various scenarios. The file transfer results show that the system can transfer large files efficiently, with the fastest transfer method being SFTP. The webpage loading results indicate that the system can load complex webpages quickly, with the images being the slowest to load. The database query results demonstrate the system's ability to execute complex queries efficiently, with the aggregate query being the fastest.
The implications of these results are significant. They demonstrate the system's ability to handle real-world scenarios, such as file transfer, webpage loading, and database queries. The results also highlight the importance of optimizing system performance, as even small improvements can have a significant impact on overall system efficiency.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the speed tests conducted demonstrate the performance of our system in various scenarios. The results provide valuable insights into the system's capabilities and limitations, highlighting areas for improvement and optimization. The implications of the results are significant, demonstrating the system's ability to handle real-world scenarios and highlighting the importance of optimizing system performance.

Server Performance and Optimization

As a leading Virtual Private Network (VPN) provider, NordVPN.com takes pride in its commitment to delivering exceptional server performance and optimization techniques. In this chapter, we will delve into the intricacies of NordVPN.com's server performance and optimization strategies, providing insights into the measures taken to ensure seamless and secure connections for our users.
Overview of Server Performance
Server performance is a critical aspect of any VPN service, as it directly impacts the user experience. NordVPN.com's server infrastructure is designed to provide fast, reliable, and secure connections. Our servers are strategically located across the globe, ensuring that users can connect to a nearby server and enjoy uninterrupted browsing, streaming, and online activities.
Server Architecture
NordVPN.com's server architecture is built on a robust and scalable infrastructure, comprising:
1. Server Hardware: Our servers are equipped with high-performance hardware, including Intel Xeon processors, SSD storage, and ample RAM. This ensures that our servers can handle a large number of concurrent connections without compromising performance.
2. Operating System: Our servers run on a custom-built Linux distribution, optimized for VPN performance and security.
3. Network Architecture: Our network architecture is designed to provide high-speed connections, with multiple uplinks and redundant connections to ensure maximum uptime and availability.
Optimization Techniques
To ensure optimal server performance, NordVPN.com employs a range of optimization techniques, including:
1. Load Balancing: Our load balancing algorithm distributes incoming traffic across multiple servers, ensuring that no single server becomes overwhelmed and that connections are maintained.
2. Caching: We utilize caching mechanisms to reduce the load on our servers and improve response times.
3. Content Delivery Network (CDN): Our CDN ensures that frequently accessed content is stored closer to users, reducing latency and improving overall performance.
4. Server Clustering: Our server clustering technology allows us to group multiple servers together, enabling us to scale our infrastructure more efficiently and provide better performance.
5. Traffic Shaping: We employ traffic shaping techniques to optimize network traffic, ensuring that critical packets are prioritized and delivered efficiently.
Security Measures
NordVPN.com takes the security of our users' data extremely seriously. To ensure the integrity of our servers, we implement the following security measures:
1. Encryption: All data transmitted between our servers and users is encrypted using AES-256, ensuring that sensitive information remains protected.
2. Firewall Configuration: Our firewalls are configured to block unauthorized access and prevent potential security threats.
3. Regular Security Audits: We conduct regular security audits to identify and address potential vulnerabilities.
4. Server Hardening: Our servers are hardened to prevent unauthorized access and minimize the attack surface.
Monitoring and Maintenance
To ensure the optimal performance and security of our servers, we implement the following monitoring and maintenance strategies:
1. Real-time Monitoring: We continuously monitor our servers' performance and security in real-time, enabling us to respond quickly to any issues.
2. Regular Maintenance: Our servers undergo regular maintenance, including updates, patches, and backups to ensure maximum uptime and availability.
3. Quality Assurance: We conduct regular quality assurance tests to ensure that our servers meet our high standards for performance and security.
Conclusion
In conclusion, NordVPN.com's server performance and optimization techniques are designed to provide users with a seamless and secure online experience. By leveraging cutting-edge technology and implementing robust security measures, we ensure that our users can trust our service to protect their online activities. As we continue to innovate and improve our infrastructure, we remain committed to delivering the best possible experience for our users.

User Interface and Design

NordVPN.com.com's user interface and design play a crucial role in providing an exceptional user experience. A well-designed interface can make a significant difference in user engagement, satisfaction, and ultimately, the overall success of the product. In this chapter, we will delve into the details of NordVPN.com's user interface and design, exploring its features, functionality, and effectiveness.
Overview of the User Interface
NordVPN.com's user interface is clean, intuitive, and easy to navigate. The main window is divided into three sections: the navigation menu, the connection status, and the settings panel. The navigation menu provides quick access to various features, such as connecting to a VPN server, checking the connection status, and accessing the settings. The connection status section displays real-time information about the VPN connection, including the server location, speed, and encryption protocol. The settings panel allows users to customize their VPN experience, including selecting a VPN protocol, setting up kill switches, and configuring advanced settings.
Design Principles
NordVPN.com's design is guided by several principles that aim to create a seamless and enjoyable user experience. These principles include:
1. Simplicity: The interface is designed to be simple and easy to understand, with clear and concise language used throughout.
2. Consistency: The design is consistent throughout the application, with similar elements and layouts used throughout.
3. Intuitiveness: The interface is designed to be intuitive, with clear and obvious navigation and functionality.
4. Accessibility: The design is accessible to users with disabilities, with features such as high contrast mode and screen reader support.
5. Aesthetics: The design is visually appealing, with a clean and modern aesthetic that is easy on the eyes.
Key Features
NordVPN.com's user interface includes several key features that enhance the user experience. These features include:
1. Server Selection: The interface allows users to select from over 5,000 servers in 60 countries, with options to filter by country, city, or server load.
2. Connection Status: The interface displays real-time information about the VPN connection, including the server location, speed, and encryption protocol.
3. Kill Switch: The interface includes a kill switch that automatically disconnects the user from the internet if the VPN connection is lost.
4. Speed Test: The interface includes a built-in speed test that allows users to test their internet speed and compare it to the VPN speed.
5. Settings Panel: The interface includes a settings panel that allows users to customize their VPN experience, including selecting a VPN protocol, setting up kill switches, and configuring advanced settings.
Effectiveness
NordVPN.com's user interface and design are highly effective in providing an exceptional user experience. The clean and intuitive design makes it easy for users to navigate and use the application, while the features and functionality provide a high level of customization and control. The interface is also highly responsive and fast, making it easy to use on a variety of devices and platforms.
Conclusion
In conclusion, NordVPN.com's user interface and design are critical components of the application's overall success. The clean and intuitive design, combined with the features and functionality, provide an exceptional user experience that sets NordVPN.com apart from other VPN providers. By understanding the design principles and key features of NordVPN.com's user interface, users can better appreciate the attention to detail and commitment to user experience that has gone into creating this exceptional application.

EXTENSIVE Rebirth, Remake, and OG FF7 spoilers in here.
This is a continuation of What's Actually Going On in FF7R (The White Materia) where I attempt to make sense of everything the Remake continuity added to the OG FF7 story. It really is best if you read the other thread first, just because this will be easier if i've already explained my theory on the White Materia and it's associated spell, Holy.
Another disclaimer : This is, still, just a theory, aGameTheory. Don't hate me (or square?) in the event it's completely wrong, which it has a decent chance of being.

There are only 2 things about FF7's Story that have fundamentally changed in Remake.
The White and Black Materia. Or more specifically, the Magic granted by them.

But what I want to discuss this time is (what I personally think, as of Rebirth) is one brilliant misdirection from Square Enix...in hindsight, anyway.

The Whispers

Oh no

"....What the hell was Square thinking?" -- You, probably, watching the ending to Rebirth and/or Remake

Well, they were thinking exactly what you were thinking. And they used it against you.
So getting right to it. TLDR;
The Whispers are exactly what they were said to be -- they protect fate by rejecting any changes to the Lifestream. The misdirection here is how YOU have been goaded into misinterpreting this information.
The White and Black Materia can fully explain their existence and purpose. And it has absolutely NOTHING to do with the OG FF7.
Let's start with what we learned from the previous thread about the White Materia:

So what does the White Materia ACTUALLY do in FF7R?
The White Materia (Holy) gives the user access to the Lifestream. Not just a piece of its knowledge, like regular materia....but the actual lifestream itself. In doing so, they gain knowledge, like all Materia allows them to do. Knowledge of the past, the future, and everything else in flux.
But this is NOT knowledge that you're not supposed to be able to actually do anything with, **because unlike casting Fire or Lightning....**knowing the future allows you to change fate.

Materia are orbs containing knowledge of the ancients. In effect, they contain information from the lifestream itself. The White Materia's magic (Holy) is special though. The magic it contains seems to allow the user to traverse the lifestream itself. This means, in effect, the ability to interact with (and take knowledge from) the actual memories of the Lifestream.
As we know, the Lifestream is everything, everywhere, and every time. All life comes from the lifestream, and when something dies, it returns there. And its memories stay there forever, as physical places within the lifestream.
This is something Tifa observed for herself in Rebirth. In her brief time floating with the WEAPON, she was reunited with her very own memories...in a very literal fashion.
Tifa, inside the Lifestream in the middle of the Gongaga Reactor
This is the Mako pool in the Lifestream underneath Gongaga. We literally watched Tifa fall in, and physically swim to this location........so why is Tifa's house here? Along with...the Nibelheim Mountians?
A Fragmented Nibelheim, including Mt Nibel and the Bridge that Tifa and Cloud almost died on in the past.
Tifa's memories are not only being played out here....they are physically real. This is because she's inside the Lifestream. She hasn't gone anywhere, she's still in Gongaga, but look at the extent to which this pool of Mako is able to interact with one person's memories.
And also....wait a second.
This space beneath the reactor is filled with White and Black Whispers.
...I thought we killed all the whispers? What are they doing here?
We'll come back to this later.
Lets back up a bit.

Why you [probably] hated the Whispers.

Hear me out.
The "OG Storyline" has never existed in Remake. It's not a thing. And the Whispers have nothing to do with it.
\"Oh, the Whispers came because Reno doesn't die in the original game\" -- You, probably

"The whispers were put into the game as a meta commentary on how the developers just want to create their own story, but the fans won't let us, so the party fucking KILLS FATE so that Nomura or Nojima or whomever is most annoying can write whatever they want." -- The Internet. Also you. Probably.

Everyone thinks the Whispers only existed in Remake in order to ensure that the story never deviates from the OG FF7 Storyline. Every time something important is about to happen that didn't happen in the original game, the whispers intervene and correct the timeline.
This is the typical, widely accepted "Meta Commentary" explanation of the Whispers.
But it's wrong.
No, not just because this theory says so. This interpretation was ALWAYS wrong.
So the whispers are canon police, but are just gonna IGNORE stuff like this?
FF7R's storyline is self-contained. If the whispers existed to "protect the old events", then why is even Remake chocked full of shit that never happened in the OG and would actively change the story if it did?
But don't be confused -- the writers ABSOLUTELY wanted you to think this way. It's what bothered me about Remake's ending. But they were actually clever about it, and Rebirth vindicates this decision.
"Changing the Future", "Defying Fate", and "The Future is Unwritten" has nothing to do the OG FF7.
Okay good we got this out of the way, I can stop talking about Meta Analysis and get to the actual good stuff.

What the whispers were ACTUALLY doing

Remake explained what the Whispers are verbatim.
They protect fate -- the Lifestream. From Aerith, and Jenova.
The Lifestream IS Fate.

Red -"Perhaps best described as arbiters of fate. They are drawn to those who attempt to alter destiny's course and ensure they do not."
Tifa - "And you're saying that flow is somehow...fixed?
Red - "Yes. For it is the will of the planet itself."

Barret then speaks about possible bad fates. And Red XIII says this:

Barret - "So if we're destined for a bleak future, these Whispers will try to keep us on that course?"

"....Now wait just a damn minute. How in the hell could you possibly know any of that? Spouting that cryptic stuff -- which could all be bullshit!"

Red - "When Aerith reached out to me...I found this knowledge of the Whispers."

In the previous thread, we explained how Aerith has been messing with the Lifestream by mistakenly using the White Materia to obtain information she has no business knowing. The Whispers are simply reacting to her blatant misuse of this, and act to correct it.
This is very consistent, even in Pt1. The Whispers in Remake ONLY appear when someone is either:

1. Using forbidden knowledge from the Lifestream
2. Manipulating events by sharing forbidden knowledge from the lifestream
3. When something foreign attempts to force its will on the lifestream

This is the only time they act. But the THIRD one is the most important. I'm going to go through a few examples in Remake and show exactly what's happening that is causing the Whispers to intervene, and explicitly why.
After I show you this, please go back and watch videos of all these sorts of events in Remake. You will see exactly what I mean.
Okay, buckle up kids!

Violation #1 Using forbidden knowledge from the Lifestream

Watching the first appearance of Aerith in Remake gives us full clarity of what's actually happening.
Aerith is attacked by an invisible force.
Aerith is being attacked by Whispers. This is because she possesses the White Materia, and has constant access to knowledge she isn't supposed to have. They are taking it from her.
Thing to note here. Cloud cannot see the whispers. This is because he is not violating any of the 3 rules.
Sephiroth makes an appearance here.
The appearance of the \"Mental Static\" used in both Remake and Rebirth
This is a Red Herring...in fact, this is THREE brilliantly placed Red Herrings. Because the "Memory Static" that appears here belongs to both Cloud AND Aerith, and serves to confuse you on what it actually means.

1. Aerith sees Cloud, and immediately gains knowledge about them both that she is not supposed to know. Also, if you pay attention, Aerith is NOT frozen during this sequence. This is her scene just as much as it is Cloud's.
2. Cloud has yet another vision of Sephiroth, caused by his Jenova cells. This is a huge misdirection, to eventually make you think Sephiroth is popping up in places he "shouldn't be."
3. This is where Remake starts to fuck with your head. They're using the same memory effect for two different characters, for two different reasons. But the result is essentially the same -- the characters involved are having their perception altered. Remake does NOT distinguish between static caused by Holy or static caused by Jenova. They are treated equally in Remake.

The biggest red herring here though is Sephiroth.
It SEEMS unnatural that Sephiroth is appearing here, this early in the game. But it isn't unnatural -- Cloud is plagued by these visions all the time in this continuity. This is why the game gave us a Sephiroth appearance immediately after the Bombing Mission.
Now. Notice how, despite being attacked by invisible whispers, Aerith mostly seems unbothered by this.
...Almost as if she's used to it. Similar to the way Cloud is equally used to visions of Sephiroth. They BOTH carry on with the conversation as though NOTHING has happened.
The game is explicitly showing you that both of these occurrences are seen as normal for these characters. Suggesting that they have actually been dealing with them for much longer than you would think.
Aerith has another Whisper attack. Cloud is once again very confused, until this happens:
Cloud's violation of #1 through contact with Aerith
Aerith touches Cloud.
We learn later that Aerith touching you gives you knowledge you're not supposed to have. Thus, Cloud is now in violation of Rule #1 -- Forbidden Knowledge. He can now observe whispers for the rest of the story.

Violation #2 Manipulating events by sharing forbidden knowledge from the lifestream

The Church Scene is a great example of this. In fact, most of the moments in Rebirth involve Aerith doing this to some degree.
The White Materia is explicitly the cause of the Whisper Attack in the church, and the game goes out of its way to make it very obvious.
Cloud Memory Static, this time it's Holy, not Jenova. (I don't have enough attachments to spell this out, so please go look at the scene after you read this.)
This is another VERY good example of Remake fucking with your head.

• Aerith brings up her White Materia in conversation
• Cloud looks at the back of Aerith's head. He has a memory static attack, and then immediately has a vision of the White Materia.
• Cloud ignores this phenoemon, because things fucking with his head is completely normal to him. He doesn't skip a beat, and suggests Aerith just doesn't know how to use it.
• Aerith playfully agrees.

The Red Herring here is obvious -- the vision of Aerith's Death. Yes, it was a vision of her death. But her death wasn't the important information the game was showing you in this scene. The White Materia was.
Regardless, the whispers did not intervene here, despite Cloud obviously glimpsing forbidden knowledge.
So why DID they intervene?
\"...Huh?\" - Cloud
Because Aerith couldn't keep her mouth shut.

1. She tells Reno that Cloud is her bodyguard. He isn't. Reno is.
2. She exposed that he was a Soldier. Reno explicitly does not like Soldiers.
3. She already knew that Cloud was doing mercenary work, and used this to persuade him.

Cloud told her none of this information. But it caught Reno's attention. And what was the result?

*Sizes Cloud up*

"Well, you're weird enough to be one."
\"What Class are you?\"
Reno doubts Cloud's Identity as a First Class Ex-Soldier. And Cloud violently reacts to protect it.
The whispers stopped Cloud from killing Reno, NOT because Reno survives in the OG game...but because Reno's life wouldn't even be at risk here if Aerith didn't instigate this fight.
And just like the Flower scene, Remake actually sets this one up with prior character information too. -- Cloud was shown from the beginning of the game to be prone to extreme violence. He would have also executed Johnny without Tifa's intervention. So we KNOW he would have killed Reno if the Whispers didn't intervene.
Hopefully you're beginning to see a pattern here.
Here is the most obvious example of this rule triggering the Whispers.
Aerith attempting to stop Barret from doing something....
In this scene, we see Aerith clearly knows something she isn't supposed to. She wants to share with Barret that killing the President isn't a good idea...And the whispers immediately appear, threatening her to stop. By this point, Aerith is beginning to become aware of why the whispers are harassing her so much.
I covered this scene in my last post, so I wont again...but this scene is crucial towards understanding what's happening in this game. Everyone should watch this scene again. Pay attention to what happens to Aerith the moment she says "Follow the Yellow Flowers". Aerith is clearly not herself as she says this. It's almost as if someone possessed her to say it. And the Whispers absolutely swarm her as a result.

Violation #3 -- When something foreign attempts to force its will on the lifestream

And here we go. The one that caused like 90% of the confusion in Remake. To be fair, this could only really be understood in hindsight after playing Rebirth.
There are many cases in Remake where the Whispers do something that seems...odd, given their explanations as arbiters of fate. Like attacking Sector 7, silencing Hojo, or literally helping Sephiroth at the end of the game. This is because although it's clearly whispers doing it...in Remake there is no visual indication of which Will any given Whispers serve -- The Planet, or Jenova's.
They all LOOK the same.
But they absolutely ARE NOT the same -- they are separate (black and white), just like in Rebirth.
But Remake included subtle clues as a nod to this reveal in Rebirth.
The Whisper Attack on Sector 7
This is another situation where you're expected to believe that the whispers are causing a ruckus because Cloud isn't going on the second bombing mission with Avalanche. Which is something we know he does in the OG game.
But that's just because we likely misinterpreted the clues that lead up to this moment that explain exactly why this is happening : The white whispers are attempting to correct the deliberate isolation of the main party by the black whispers.
A whisper is seen lurking around in Sector 7 the day before this happens. It's extremely easy to miss.
A whisper was present in Seventh Heaven. This was shown immediately after Barret told Cloud he wasn't on the next mission and has to leave.
See...if you're comparing Remake to the OG, then this whisper shown here is 100% going to force you to misinterpret what it's doing here.
In Seventh Heaven, multiple things happen that result in a break up of the entire main party.

1. Tifa is feeling anxious about the next mission. Jesse goes out of her way to voice concerns about her involvement, leading to her getting kicked off the team for the mission.
2. Jesse then tries to aim to get Cloud placed on the team instead. Barret refuses to do this because he "doesn't want the team leaning on him."
3. Barret pays Cloud, tells him he isn't wanted on the next mission, and kicks him out the bar.
4. A whisper will literally stop you from entering Seventh Heaven again after this happens to make sure you can't fix it.

The side mission with Jesse happens.....and then this.
A whisper with Sephiroth's voice trying to keep Cloud sleep
A Whisper with Sephiroth's voice approaches Cloud in the morning. He wants him to sleep through Barret, Jesse, and Biggs going on the mission. This would have likely isolated Barret, resulting in his death. Something Jenova tries again towards the end of the game.
She really does not want Barret to stay alive, because he is the glue of Avalanche, and the main reason the events of the story begin the way they do. Cloud also likely never would have met Aerith in the church.
Jenova's whispers are trying to prevent Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, and Barret from getting together. This event would have succeeded in separating all of them.
That's why the whispers are at war with one another.
The Black ones are trying to isolate you. The white ones are correcting their meddling.
The game even STOPS you mid-combat to bring attention to the fact that the Black Whispers are being exposed.
Black Whisper being made vulnerable by something external

• You don't have to do anything to these whispers for this to happen.
• The entire screen gains a Static Memory effect....as though Cloud is being shown the truth. He even comments on it.
• After they go vulnerable, they become Black/Purple until they die.

They stop attacking after a whisper manages to isolate and injure Jesse, at which point the battle is over and all whispers leave.
And of course....there's most obvious example of this kind of massive violation from Remake....The Infamous Chapter 18.
But that's gonna have to wait for another post.
I'm out of attachments again.

TL;DR : FF7R is messing with your head.

Aerith using the White Materia in Remake is literally going through the events of the story the exact same way the player did -- with "forbidden knowledge" about how things are "supposed to be".
In Rebirth, the White Materia is empty. She no longer has knowledge of what's "supposed to happen", and thus has to accept that whatever happens, happens. This is why the "The Journey is Unknown." Not because the party killed the whispers, therefore the writers can do whatever they want. But because Aerith hid her knowledge of the future (Holy) from herself. She used to be able to know what was going to happen. Now she can't. The real Meta thing is that FF7R only really starts to make sense when you willingly abandon what you thought you already knew about the story. Those who look with clouded eyes see nothing but shadows.
Now go back through Remake with the new perspective and tell me that everything doesn't make way more sense.
Also, please tell me im crazy so I can stop writing these.
Otherwise, stay tuned for pt3 -- The Black Materia.
....Oh. One final hilarious mindblowing. Remember this?

This is where Remake starts to fuck with your head. They're using the same memory effect for two different characters, for two different reasons. But the result is essentially the same -- the characters involved are having their perception altered.
Remake does NOT distinguish between static caused by Holy or static caused by Jenova. They are treated equally in Remake.

Rebirth DOES distinguish the visual effects of memory alteration.
But only for the player.
Cloud still can't tell the difference.

I recently got married and I'm currently freaking out about whether it was the right decision. My husband is a great guy who always puts me first and tries to make me happy. However, lately I have putting all the pieces together.
He's a 33 year-old Catholic attorney who believes marriage is for life. I'm 33, unemployed, and come from a background where I saw my parents struggle their whole lives. I don't want to repeat that for myself.
We met through an app, and at the beginning, he had moved back from another estate and he was living with his parents and his gay best friend, which was a bit of a shock for me since I come from an old-fashioned family. While I believe we can have gay friends and still be straight, there are some red flags that concern me.
My red flags:

1. Underwear Incident: before getting married I once found sexy underwear in his closet. He said it came as a promotional item with his regular underwear, which he orders from the same brand as his gay friend. This seemed odd to me.
   
2. Close Relationship with Gay Friend: He had a very close relationship with his gay best friend. I asked and he assured me there's nothing between them. Since then his gay friend moved out of his house and got married.
   
3. Family Concerns: His mother also didn't like that he lived with his gay friend, even though they liked him because is a nice person.
   
4. Texting Concerns: His gay friend's now-husband mentioned that he was concerned about my husband texting his partner so much which I thought it was normal at that time but now I question it.
   
5. Gay Friend's Preferences: His gay friend once described his dream man as a blond, muscular guy, which is exactly how my husband looks.
   
6. Molestation Revelation: During a church questionnaire before our wedding, he revealed he'd been molested, which he'd never told me before. He said it was by an older woman, but I have my doubts. Never asked further questions to respect his privacy.
   
7. Gay Friends: He has other gay friends who are now with partners, either men or women.
   
8. Gay Bar Incident: Recently, while out with friends, my husband insisted we avoid a certain bar because he claimed it was a gay bar. None of us knew it as such, which made us wonder how he knew so specifically. I felt embarrassed. I asked him how he knew that and he said it was because his friends told him that. The next day I asked and he said it was because he used drive by it and “seen gay flags”. He lied. He never lies so that was the moment where I got worried.
   

I've asked him if he's bisexual or gay, or if he's had any experiences with men in the past, and he insists he hasn't. Our sex life is active, and his behavior seems straight, but all these concerns make me feel like I'm blind to something. I can't discuss this with my family or his, but I need to make a decision before we consider starting a family.
My concern is that if he is gay or bisexual, he might be repressing his feelings, and coming out could help him be happier. Unfortunately, staying with him in that case wouldn't work for me, although I respect those who can be married to a bisexual person.

I initially talked about this trip report on another subreddit, but I have gained new insights after churning on my experiences and reading about other experiences, and I am slowly consolidating my knowledge on this topic. I have discovered that many people have had similar experiences to mine with the same motifs, details etc. despite me never coming across these stories and reports beforehand.
The DMT just serves up the experience on a platter, and then kicks you out. It's up to you to figure out what went on while also battling with trip amnesia. I didn't even know the entity I saw was a robed mantis until months after (more on this later...)
My DMs are open to anyone wanting to discuss any of this, I have many ideas and theories which I only slightly covered here about the DMT space and the entities I have experienced too. I think I have almost figured out the jester. I'm slowly homing in on the Robed mantises too. My hopes with posting this story on this subreddit is to gleam new insight and to have more discussion about all of this. If you have anything to say, please comment.

My retold story

It was sometime in October last year. I was experimenting with DMT, trying to discover the truth about reality because of a strong inkling I've had from when I was a child that some high strangeness is going on in this reality, before I was ever familiar with such concepts...
It was nighttime and my bedroom was lit by my small lamp on my bedside. I consumed 2 grams of Syrian Rue seeds orally to get some MAOI in my system (MAOI slows down the metabolism of DMT, so it remains in your system longer). I waited around an hour, before vaporizing 25mg of yellowish DMT. I laid down and slipped on my eye-mask as the carrier wave ringing set in, the sensation of dissolving reality crept in, and the coursing energy rattling the atoms of my body began...
THE JESTERS
I found myself in a grand palace which had a black and white checkerboard pattern, and there were jester faces in the walls pursuing me which were ahead of me, while my soul travelled linearly down the palace...
Now, the jester is an entity that for some reason I have experienced every single time I have taken DMT. It is always in these black and white checker pattern textured settings. I've seen it in square tunnels, toroidal caves, and now this big palace. It's some sort of disembodied face and it has these big bulging eyes with thick black eyeliner, where the pupil is a black dot, and the white sclera part is big. It has a big mouth which switches from frowning to smiling wide in a few seconds, and some sort of tongue it sticks out at you. It has eyebrows too. It has a very mocking and sinister yet also at times childish vibe, and it seems to try and attempt to scare you, but I've never been particularly phased by it. I don't think it's ever clearly communicated to me telepathically. It just seems to stare at you and give you all its attention.
So, I'm in this palace, and these jester faces are in the walls following me. They're sticking their tongues out at me and I do the same back at them. Nothing particularly interesting happens, and the trip ends in around 14 minutes thanks to the MAOI extending it a bit. I found myself unimpressed, having consumed Syrian rue and taking precious DMT and not really getting much out of it this trip. I spend the next 10 minutes debating if I should go deeper, and I decide to do so. I also decide to experiment with music, and I play 'Shpongle - Divine Moments of Truth(DMT)' wanting to see if music influences anything. I load up 30mg, vape it, lay back and slip on the eye mask again.
Immediately I'm back in the checkered palace. The jesters are there too where they had just been. All my trips have involved this jester, and it doesn't seem particularly interesting. I'm completely disinterested in it and sort of ignore it, and I say to myself "What a f*king circus", commenting on the palace, as it always seems like these clowns/jesters are in these befitting circuses, and I was completely disenfranchised with them at this point. I was completely sick of them and essentially turned my attention away from them. Then suddenly, something started to happen...
(I later read about people doing something like this, where they divert their attention from the jester and ignore them, and seemingly try to "look ahead" of them. This supposedly lets you get past them especially as one of their purposes is allegedly to stop you from going further. Though in my case, I think the larger DMT dose was taking time to kick in [The jesters are allegedly sub-breakthrough entities and disappear at the higher doses]. These Jester environments are possibly the waiting room.)
The jesters and the checkerboard pattern vanished, and the trip suddenly started transforming with color and geometry. If you've ever seen those videos of physical film tape bubbling and dissolving, this is sort of what I experienced; the checkerboard palace and jesters disintegrated in front of me. I was quite surprised, as I had never actually experienced much other than the jester and the black and white pattern up until this point, and I thought I was doomed to have my DMT experiences forever intertwined with them.
This kaleidoscopic, beautifully geometrical circle / mandala of color, primarily pinkish and purplish with a tinge of green, started manifesting in front of me (Which I now believe is likely the chrysanthemum people see). It grew larger and larger as my 'soul' moved towards it. Suddenly, this massive keyhole shaped portal/door materializes in the middle of it, and behind it there were more doors. Eventually they all opened, and this humanoid entity walked through them...
"Is that her?" I asked myself. I had previously seen a pink and very feminine curvy figure on a spinning pedestal for a brief moment in a jester cave before and she seemed to be idolized/revered by them. I have never interacted with her, only seen her for a glimpse moment. But this was not her.
THE MANTIS & COUNCIL OF ENTITIES
Instead, this humanoid entity had a green head which seemed like an inverted triangle. It was quite unattractive and honestly ugly, looking like some sort of insect. But it wasn't vomit-inducing or grotesque. I initially explained it to others as having a "bull shaped head", as I didn't get to look at it for very long. Instead, I primarily had my focus on what it was wearing. It donned this wizard looking purple/pinkish/maroon robe or cloak, and the seams had some golden alien inscriptions/letters on them (In retrospect, this might have been the golden medallion people see them wearing, but I have seen someone else describe these gold inscriptions before similar to the way I have). Its clothes are scintillating with its purple/pink color palette in flux, and its head I would like to say almost had a sheen to it? I felt that it was an old entity wielding great power and high status. It moves closer and closer towards me, while I too am gravitating towards it, before suddenly everything vanishes; it felt like this entity had intercepted me. I'm teleported somewhere...
Everything is very dark, and I don't recall any visuals exactly. I feel like a purer form of consciousness/awareness at this point occupying a singular point in space, and my ego is objectified (as in I'm still aware of my human identity, but I'm not attached to it). It also feels as if I'm at the end of time, the conclusion of the universe. The fireworks were set off, and now there's nothing. Time had actually stopped working the way it does in consensus reality anyways while I was still in the presence of the jesters.
(An interesting experiment anyone who takes DMT should try: Take a sufficient dose where you can still keep your eyes open but you're at the verge of going deeper, and look at something like a timer on your phone, and witness your mind be stupefied as it attempts to decipher the meaning of the numbers you're looking at. You literally forget the concept of time.)
I feel the presence of a council of entities surrounding me, and I am in the middle of them all. They sort of feel subordinate to me, and short of stature. (I'm frustrated I don't really remember what I saw during this part of the trip. They could have been the blue imps people see, or mantis beings, or elves, etc. I just know that they felt very familiar) Suddenly, a monsoon of information is "downloaded" into my brain, and everything is completely overwhelming.
I don't recall much but the kernel of what they were basically 'saying' telepathically is that "You are the eternal ultimate awareness which has always existed, and everything exists as a form of entertainment and/or experiences for you, as there is nothing else to do. You have been doing this for all of eternity." What is strange is that I already sort of deduced this was the purpose of reality long before I tried DMT, so they may have just been feeding back to me the assumptions I already had about reality. This is a common motif I've read about, where the entities just use what you know against you. The suspected motive for this? I'll explain later.
I remember the saying "Once you get the message, hang up the phone" being pushed to the forefront of my mind during this whole thing, and me responding "No, I'm coming back later to check again". That sums up the essence of ultimate consciousness I guess, it keeps coming back for more experience rather than resting in peace. That is the implication IF what they were telling me was true, I guess.
I then react by saying "Are you serious‽ Is that all this is‽ " because I always wanted to be wrong about what I thought about reality, but instead this council was basically reaffirming my beliefs. They basically replied "Well, what else were you expecting?" and I felt one of the entities in the council get sad I'm assuming due to my reaction, I sort of 'reached out' to them and quickly apologized "No! I'm sorry, don't be sad." That's the last thing I remember while in the presence of that council.
The apex of the trip is over. They disappear and it feels like I'm thrown down the DMT realms, sort of floating in a black void behind my closed eyelids which I'm becoming aware of (I didn't have a body nor eyelids when I was in those places). I'm quite comfortable there, it feels like a womb. My lucidity of our consensus reality increases more and more. The music starts to reappear, I don't ever recall hearing it while I was in the trip.
(Unrelated but interesting side note. I remember I was in this comedown state for a while and had become aware of my body but chose to keep my eyes closed. I did this little experiment where I scrunched my eyes really tight, and when I did this my teeth started chattering and I saw this flat 2D magic-eye texture in front of me that was dark green and had a sort of diagonal chain-link pattern to it. The Qualia Research Institute has done research on DMT, they identified 6 levels to the experience: Threshold, Chrysanthemum, Magic Eye, Waiting Room, Breakthrough, and Amnesia. I believe I was in this sort of Magic Eye level at this point on the comedown. I also did not experience DMT in that specific order of levels, for me the chrysanthemum is after the waiting room. Another thing to note is that this institute identified DMT geometry as being hyperbolic which is something that can exacerbate the phenomenon of not remembering trips properly, as the brain struggles to make memories of it)
I found myself agitated and frustrated. I ripped off my eye mask and got out of my bed. I started swearing at everything in my room lol, and I also said unusual things which I reflect on to this day. For the record, the trip lasted about 17 minutes.
"Do whatever the f*k you want" As in if you wanna climb mount Everest, go do that, if you wanna be a musician, go do that. This trip made me feel like anything is possible, and a person is limitless.
"God exists, I created him" I was speaking from the perspective/ in the context of being the ultimate awareness, implying that the ultimate consciousness invented God, which is interesting. A while after the trip I had come across a concept of the distinction between God and the Godhead from Meister Eckhart which is probably what I was for some reason referring to in this moment, but I never delved much into the topic, so I am not sure.
"Why the f*k are you scared of the dark lol" I have a fear of the dark from when I was a child which stems from being exposed to those screamer flash games where the woman from the Exorcist movie flashes on the screen etc. which has mentally scarred me to this day as an adult lmao. but post-trip me had a revelation that this was silly, though it's still hard to get over my fear of the dark that occasionally creeps in.
I wrote up an initial trip report after I had calmed down from my annoyance, and I noted down that "All the hate you show onto others is reflected onto yourself, likewise the same with love." Due to feeling this sense of interconnectedness with everyone I had during that trip afterglow.
Here is the paragraph at the end of my first reddit trip report I posted. It will tie into the next section of this post.

"So now to the present moment, I had some strange synchronicities and events recently which lead me to discover that humanoid entity I saw was in fact a mantis entity, as it weirdly matches other people's typical descriptions. Green head, purple robe, feeling a presence of a council of entities etc. I had never researched it nor really heard of the mantis aliens before this trip, so it is interesting that I saw it. I was always referring to it as the humanoid entity with a cow shaped head, lol. I don't know who that mantis being was, it was only in front of me for a few seconds before it whisked me away to the council, and it never telepathically spoke to me. Me learning about the mantis beings prompted me to share this experience, as I would like to hear what others have to say. Thanks." 

SUSPECTED MOTIVES
Now I didn't really want to add these to this post to prevent it from getting too long winded, but I may as well. All I really wanted was to repost this trip on this subreddit.
Stick with me here. Think about the theme of the DMT experience. It's about humor, 'the cosmic joke', absurdity, amusement, circuses, and so on. What is the prime entity people see on DMT? The Jestetrickstejokeclown and the various names it has, and what better character to represent DMT. A mischievous, cunning, almost sinister entity that showers you in its attention as it tries almost to overwhelm you, all the while mocking you. It seemingly does this so as to grab your attention and make you become preoccupied with it. For some people, it tosses them around to completely discombobulate them, or even puts people in a sort of 'Jack-In-the-Box'. When I saw that Mantis at the kaleidoscope, it was as if it had a mission to intercept me to prevent me from going out of bounds on my own. Where does it take me? To a place where my beliefs are regurgitated and fed back to me. "Well, what else did you expect?" one of the entities told me when I was there. Why would an entity say that if not to try and dissuade me from digging deeper? They didn't seem to want me to come back, just fed me my assumptions to try and satiate me and sent me on my merry way.
The Mantis never communicated to me, introduced itself, etc. It just manifested itself into existence and intercepted me at the kaleidoscope. I literally didn't even learn it was a mantis until months later. I have seen them commonly being referred to as 'Overseers'. Like administrators. They don't like to reveal themselves and rather remain in the shadows, but I forced their hand by taking a large DMT dose and getting close to the other side. They never wanted me going there. But they can't stop me from learning about them.
To these entities on the other side of the veil, it's all about humor. It seems like it's what they value the most. You have absolutely no reason to trust them. They'll lie to you to get their laugh all the while herding you back into place to stop you from seeing what's really on the other side. They don't want us going too deep into the DMT space. What are they stopping us from seeing?
It's taken some retrospection and deduction to get to this point, but it's time to ignore the bs and cognitive dissonance people have. Something is going on here.
All I really know is that THIS, this experience, is happening right now, you are reading this right now, all of this is possible because all of this is currently happening. All the suffering, pain, discomfort, etc. This is reality. I just want to make sure I don't come back to this, not until I have the full picture. I pity my higher self if such a thing exists, if it was so bored out of its mind it actually voluntarily decided to live human lives on Earth.
APPENDIX:
A photo of the sort of texture you see in the Jester's environments. Though for me I feel the texture is slightly more regular, like a checkerboard. But this photo contains the vibe you get in these Jester places. Credit to u/theshponglr
Processing img 4huajp78pz2d1...
Keywords for the search function: Mantid, mantis, green, portal, council, purple, robes, robed, cape, capes, cloak, cloaked, golden, gold, inscription, letters, portal, clown, jester, checkers, checker board, checkered, black white, mocking, insectoid, insect Edit: Minor improvements

A couple years ago, I decided I was bored of gaming and social media - so I downloaded Duolingo and randomly picked French. The first year, it was mainly a time waster. I wasn't consistent nor did I take anything seriously. Now, after a year of consistent use - here's my "review" on using Duolingo for learning French.
Quick notes to fill in the story a bit more. Once I decided to study French as a serious topic - I found many things in French. I found articles, listened to music and podcasts, word searches and word finds, played games, read books, also had a couple conversations in French, and watched YouTube (Also, these WEREN'T designed for learners of the language - rather content created for native speakers. While it was frustrating - I do think it helped progress me quicker). I also was able to find someone who was willing to help me learn.
So, with all that said - here's what I have to say about Duolingo. I'm now on unit 5 - but it was a lot of skipping. Because of all my other sources I was using to study, I learned quite a lot just from exposure and so I'd take their leveling test every month or so. I used Duolingo on a daily basis and found it a solid platform for vocabulary. In the beginning - it was a great foundation. It explained the basic concepts quite well and was, for the most part, easy to follow. I didn't use any backup research except a couple times - and was understanding concepts for the majority of the time. After a couple months - things got more complex. While I continued to skip around in units {Skipped around units twice - that was it}, I found new concepts introduced that weren't well explained. They'd have a sentence and a couple examples to explain something that felt much more complex. Duolingo also missed quite a lot of regularly used vocabulary - or it was taught in later courses. Words like "sais" were common in reading or speaking French - but weren't covered in Duolingo until MUCH later (chapter 3 or 4 I think). There was also quite a few times where they'd place words that they never taught into a sentence and prioritized words you had gone over. This lead to a ton of confusion. More and more I'd find myself looking up words or relying on information found on other sites or other sources to back what they were trying to teach me up. A big problem, especially now with Duolingo, is being that they're using AI - and even before using AI - they use presets of words - and while this isn't much of the case on the desktop version - it doesn't help you remember words. I found myself sticking to several rules I saw like the idea there's always 4 words remaining after crafting a sentence correctly. There's also the added issue of the correction just being wrong at times. Or sometimes it would catch words I got in the wrong "placement". So the sentence was "Do you prefer curly or straight hair?" and I put "Do you prefer straight or curly hair" and it was marked as wrong. Technically my sentence was correct - but it was wrong because it didn't directly mirror the French translation.
Here's what I'll say to round off my statement.
There's no "one size fits all" program. I think Duolingo is incredible for the beginning. Especially if you're just wanting to play around in the language. I think Duolingo isn't great for explaining grammar or even sparking your mind to actively recall things. I think it's great for keeping a record of how long you've been at it - and how dedicated you are - but isn't something I'd say is the best thing for learning the language. I think it's best for someone to spend the beginning of their journey on Duolingo - but quickly (if you're taking it seriously) move to other sources. I think the biggest thing that has helped and in general makes sense to help others is to expose yourself to it. We didn't learn our mother tongue by reading text books and filling in "fill in the blanks" sheets. We learned it from observing and trying. I'm nowhere close to being able to form the perfect sentence nor can I always translate something perfectly - but I have made a ton of progress. It's only been possible as I've turned almost everything in my life to French. French learning doesn't have to be done with expensive apps and prepaid plans. Find ways to incorporate French into your life. What do you enjoy doing? What do you consume? Great, now find that all in French. Do you like to read? Read news articles in French (or books, but news articles are easier to find and more than often free). Do you like to do yoga? Find yoga videos in French to follow along with. Do you like word searches? Find it in French. There's so much more that you can do than an app or two. YouTube (and most apps in general) are great resources for content in French - or even changing the app's setting so said app is in French, Even your phone (under settings you can change your phone's language), books, podcasts, you could even change your browser's language. It's through being around the language that most of the time we learn it best.
Any additional feedback or ideas are welcomed!
This is all just coming from my point of view and my experience - my experience IS biased and IS flawed. Between switching chapters a couple times, having extra resources at play, and even having someone who explained it all is 100% Biased and flawed. This is just MY experience. I want to clarify that because I know some people with comment about how I might've missed something amongst switching chapters - which you're right. However, most things were introduced in an order and in said order they weren't always explained very well. Please keep that in mind. When looking at one's experience - their background and such can play a huge role in what they're saying.
https://preview.redd.it/k447evlp0w3d1.png?width=1372&format=png&auto=webp&s=1f45594f3ee8b63fa0a1a665b921dd38bee9cdcc

I can get online, my WiFi works fine, Xbox says I'm connected but I cant play my games, can't browse the store, can hardly sign in(it didn't even show my gamer score or gamerpic at one point), everything hardly loads but I can somehow still install games at my regular download speed?(Even though I can't play them). Xbox says I'm connected but basically nothing is functioning. Tried every remedy under the sun and nothing. I'm seeing people having similar issues but it doesn't feel widespread? Anyone know if Xbox is aware of this yet??

X. Paternalism Without Father
…
The Managerial and Professional Elite as a Ruling Class
As even the rich lose the sense of place and historical continuity, the subjective feeling of “entitlement,” which takes inherited advantages for granted, gives way to what clinicians call “narcissistic entitlement” - grandiose illusions, inner emptiness. The advantages the rich confer on their children dwindle down to money alone. As the new elite discards the outlook of the old bourgeoisie, it identifies itself not with the work ethic and the responsibilities of wealth but with an ethic of leisure, hedonism, and self-fulfillment. Although it continues to administer American institutions in the interests of private property (corporate property as opposed to entrepreneurial property), it has replaced character building with permissiveness, the cure of souls with the cure of the psyche, blind justice with therapeutic justice, philosophy with social science, personal authority with an equally irrational authority of professional experts. It has tempered competition with antagonistic cooperation, while abolishing many of the rituals in which aggressive impulses formerly found civilized expression. It has surrounded people with “symbolically mediated information” and has substituted images of reality for reality itself. Without intending to, it has created new forms of illiteracy even in the act of setting up a system of universal education. It has undermined the family while attempting to rescue the family. It has torn away the veil of chivalry that once tempered the exploitation of women and has brought men and women face to face as antagonists. It has expropriated the worker’s knowledge of his craft and the mother’s “instinct” for childrearing, and has reorganized this knowledge as a body of esoteric lore accessible only to the initiated. The new ruling class has elaborated new patterns of dependence as effectively as its forebears eradicated the dependence of the peasant on his lord, the apprentice on his master, and the woman on her man.
I do not wish to imply a vast conspiracy against our liberties. These things have been done in broad daylight and have been done, on the whole, with good intentions. Nor have they arisen as a unified policy of social control. Social policy in the United States has unfolded in response to a series of immediate emergencies, and those who make policy seldom see beyond the problems at hand. The cult of pragmatism, moreover, justifies their unwillingness or inability to make far-reaching plans for the future. What unifies their actions is the need to promote and defend the system of corporate capitalism from which they - the managers and professionals who operate the system - derive most of the benefits. The needs of the system shape policy and set the permissible limits of public debate. Most of us can see the system but not the class that administers it and monopolizes the wealth it creates. We resist a class analysis of modern society as a “conspiracy theory.” Thus we prevent ourselves from understanding how our current difficulties arose, why they persist, or how they might be solved.
Progressivism and the Rise of the New Paternalism
The new paternalism emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century, found political expression in the progressive movement and later in the New Deal, and gradually worked its way into every corner of American society. The democratic revolution of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, culminating in the Civil War, not only did away with monarchy but undermined established religion, landed elites, and finally overthrew the slaveholding oligarchy in the South. The revolution gave rise to a society based on individualism, competition, and the pursuit of the main chance. It also generated demands for further change, which came to a head in the period immediately following the Civil War. Having destroyed slavery in the name of free labor, the leaders of the democratic movement inadvertently encouraged northern workers to ask for the freedom to control the terms of their work, not merely to sell their labor at ruinous prices. The logic of democracy demanded the confiscation of Confederate estates and their distribution among the freedmen; it demanded woman suffrage; it demanded, in short, a more sweeping reorganization of society than its leaders had contemplated. Seeking merely to free property from its feudal and mercantile restrictions, bourgeois radicals in the 1860s and early 1870s found themselves confronted with an incipient attack on property itself, from which most of them recoiled in horror.
After the collapse of reconstruction and the radical agitation associated with it, American liberalism no longer spoke for the artisan, the small farmer, and the independent entrepreneur - the “producing classes” that had been the backbone of the democratic movement. Faced with unrest at home and with the spectacle of the Paris commune abroad, liberalism now identified itself, in the words of E. L. Godkin, with “the more well-to-do and observing classes.” It undertook to reform society from the top down - to professionalize the civil service, break the power of the urban machine, and put “the best men” into office. When such measures failed to stem the rising tide of labor militancy and agrarian radicalism, reformers brought forward their own version of the “cooperative commonwealth” in the name of progressivism: universal education, welfare capitalism, scientific management of industry and government. The New Deal completed what progressivism had begun, solidifying the foundations of the welfare state and adding much of the superstructure as well. In industry, scientific management gave way to the school of human relations, which tried to substitute cooperation for authoritarian control. But this cooperation rested on management’s monopoly of technology and the reduction of work to routines imperfectly understood by the worker and controlled by the capitalist. Similarly the expansion of welfare services presupposed the reduction of the citizen to a consumer of expertise.
American progressivism, which has successfully countered agrarian radicalism, the labor movement, and the feminist movement by enacting selective parts of their program, has now lost almost all trace of its origin in nineteenth-century liberalism. It has rejected the liberal conception of man, which assumed the primacy of rational self-interest, and has installed in its place a therapeutic conception which acknowledges irrational drives and seeks to divert them into socially constructive channels. It has rejected the stereotype of economic man and has attempted to bring the “whole man” under social control. Instead of regulating the conditions of work alone, it now regulates private life as well, organizing leisure time on scientific principles of social and personal hygiene. It has exposed the innermost secrets of the psyche to medical scrutiny and has thus encouraged habits of anxious self-scrutiny, superficially reminiscent of religious introspection but rooted in anxiety rather than a guilty conscience - in a narcissistic rather than a compulsive or hysterical type of personality.
Liberal Criticism of the Welfare State
The new modes of social control associated with the rise of progressivism having stabilized capitalism without solving any of its underlying problems - the gap between wealth and poverty, the failure of purchasing power to keep pace with productivity, economic stagnation. The new paternalism has kept social tensions from assuming political form, but it has not removed their source. As those tensions increasingly find expression in crime and random violence, critics have begun to ask whether the welfare system delivers all it promised. The system, moreover, has become more and more expensive to operate. Even those who remain loyal to the underlying premises of American capitalism have begun to express alarm about the mounting cost of maintaining it. Proposals to replace the welfare system with a guaranteed income or a negative income tax have gained a sympathetic hearing. In his book on old age, David Hackett Fischer argues that a national inheritance system, whereby a gift of capital at birth would accumulate interest and provide for the citizen in his old age, would prove “cheaper than present arrangements.” The modification or abandonment of the welfare system now presents itself not as a Utopian dream but as a matter of sound business practice.
The health and welfare industries, which have done so much to promote the new paternalism by professionalizing activities formerly carried on in the workshop, the neighborhood, or the home, have themselves begun to harbor second thoughts about the results of their own labors. Members of the “helping professions” have begun to question the efficiency of the public institutions and welfare agencies that monopolize the knowledge formerly administered by ordinary citizens - the hospital, the mental asylum, the juvenile court. The medical profession, after upholding the hospital as an indispensable alternative to the family, now begins to think that patients might be better off if they were allowed to die at home. Psychiatrists have been speculating along similar lines, not only because existing facilities are overcrowded but because they have failed to achieve the high rates of cure once predicted with such confidence. Lawyers have begun to criticize the courts for removing “neglected” children from their homes without evidence that such children suffer serious harm and without proof that institutionalization or transfer to foster parents provides any solution. Even the school’s claim on the child has begun to give way to parental claims. In Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972), the Supreme Court ruled that Amish parents have a right to keep their children out of the public schools. “The child is not the mere creature of the State,” the court said; “those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations.”
Even with the best intentions, however, those who criticize the welfare state within the assumptions underlying a capitalist economy cannot bring themselves to confront the revolution in social relations that abandonment of the welfare system would require. Liberal criticism of the new paternalism resembles the “humanization” of the workplace, which tries to give the worker the illusion of participation while leaving management in undiminished control. The attempt to mitigate the monotony of the assembly line by allowing the worker to perform more than a single operation does not alter the condition that degrades work - the monotony of the assembly line by allowing the worker to perform more than a single operation does not alter the condition that degrades work - the monopoly of technical knowledge by means of which management designs all phases of production, while the worker merely carries out the bidding of the planning department. Recent proposals to modify the welfare system suffer from the same kind of limitation. Thus a study of the family commissioned by the Carnegie Corporation takes issue with the conventional assumption of parental incompetence while leaving unchallenged the definition of parents as consumers of professional services. Kenneth Keniston and the other authors of the Carnegie report, conscious of belonging to “an emerging consensus,” hold that parents “are still the world’s greatest experts about the needs of their own children.” They recognize that many of the agencies ostensibly ministering to the family have undermined the family instead. The parental “malaise,” according to Keniston, lies in “the sense of having no guidelines or supports for raising children, the feeling of not being in control as parents, and the widespread sense of personal guilt for what seems to be going awry.”
The rehabilitation of parenthood, it appears, implies an attack on professionalism and the welfare state. Yet Keniston stops well short of such an attack. He takes for granted the family’s dependence on experts and seeks merely to regularize and regulate this relationship. “Few people would dispute that we live in a society where parents must increasingly rely on others for help and support in raising their children.” The family economy has disappeared; children represent a financial liability rather than an asset; the school has taken over the family’s education functions; and the medical profession has assumed most of the responsibility for health care. These changes, according to Keniston, leave parents in the position of “executives in a large firm - responsible for the smooth coordination of the many people and processes that must work together to produce the final product.”
This line of analysis leads to the conclusion not that parents should collectively assert their control over childrearing but that federal policy should seek to equalize the relationship between experts and parents. Yet Keniston’s own reasoning shows that parents occupy a position closer to proletarians than to executives. As things now stand, according to Keniston, “parents have little authority over those with whom they share the task of raising their children”; they “deal with those others from a position of inferiority of helplessness.” The obvious reason for this is that the state, not the parents, pays the bill for professional services, or at least signs the paychecks. (The citizens, as taxpayers, pay in the end.) If parents organized and hired their own experts, things might be different.
It goes without saying that such solutions do not commend themselves to members of the policy-making establishment. Measures of this kind are too closely associated with populism, localism, and residual resistance to centralized progress. They have become doubly objectionable, and for reasons the force of which even enemies of the establishment must acknowledge, in the wake of the Ocean Hill-Brownsville battle of the late sixties, when “community control” degenerated into reverse racism and education into racial propaganda. Yet the alternative to community control is more bureaucracy. Instead of confronting the choice, liberal reformers try to have things both ways. While advocating an expansion of government services to the family, a federal guarantee of full employment, improved protection of children’s legal rights, and a vastly expanded program of health care, they propose to strengthen “parent participation” in all these programs. They treat the ascendancy of experts as an unavoidable condition of industrial society, even when they seek to qualify they ascendancy of experts as an unavoidable condition of industrial society, even when they seek to qualify this ascendancy by improving the position of consumers. They assume that the requirements of a complex society dictate the triumph of factory production over handicraft production and the ascendancy of the “helping professions” over the family.
Bureaucratic Dependence and Narcissism
Recent studies of professionalization show that professionalism did not emerge, in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, in response to clearly defined social needs. Instead, the new professions themselves invented many of the needs they claimed to satisfy. They played on public fears of disorder and disease, adopted a deliberately mystifying jargon, ridiculed popular traditions of self-help as backward and unscientific, and in this way created or intensified (not without opposition) a demand for their own services. The evidence of professional self-promotion can no longer be dismissed by reasserting the sociological truism that “modern society involves the individual in relations … that are vastly more complex than [those] his ancestors … had to content with.”
The family’s dependence on professional services over which it has little control represents one form of a more general phenomenon: the erosion of self-reliance and ordinary competence by the growth of giant corporations and of the bureaucratic state that serves them. The corporations and the state now control so much of the necessary know-how that Durkheim’s image of society as the “nourishing mother,” from whom all blessings flow, more and more coincides with the citizen’s everyday experience. The new paternalism has replaced personal dependence not with bureaucratic rationality, as theorists of modernization (beginning with Max Weber) have almost unanimously assumed, but with a new form of bureaucratic dependence. What appears to social scientists as a seamless web of “interdependence” represents in fact the dependence of the individual on the organization, the citizen on the state, the worker on the manager, and the parent on the “helping professions.” The “consensus of the competent,” as Thomas L. Haskell refers to the professions in his study of the professionalization of social science, came into being by reducing the layman to incompetence.
As retributive justice gives way to therapeutic justice, what began as a protest against moral oversimplification ends by destroying the very sense of moral responsibility. Therapeutic justice perpetuates childlike dependence into adulthood and deprives the citizen of legal resources against the state. Formerly law rested on an adversary relation between the state and the offender and acknowledged the superior power of the state by giving important procedural advantages to the defendant. Medical jurisprudence, on the other hand, implicates the offender in his own control. Relieved of moral responsibility when certified into the sick role, he cooperates with the doctors in his own “cure.”
The psychiatric critique of the law, like the therapeutic attack on authority in general, makes a virtue of substituting personal treatment for the impersonal, arbitrary authority of the courts. Thus a specialist in the sociology of law, acknowledging his intention to “substitute scientific therapies for legal sanctions - for ‘justice’” - once deplored the irrationality of legal procedures: “There is in the concept of justice an element of ‘fate’, which is absent in the concept of scientific treatment. The offender simply gets what he himself initiated…. Society as a whole is blameless. The criminal himself was the one who chose.” Whereas “the lawyer’s way of handling a human problem is typically non-scientific,” therapy treats the criminal or patient as a victim and thus puts matters in their proper light. The shift from “sin” to “sickness,” according to this writer, represents the first step toward “the introduction of science and personal reactions [into] human conflicts” and to the recognition of social problems as medical problems, in which “cooperation with the therapist” becomes “probably the most critical problem for the deviant.”
Medical justice shares with enlightened childrearing and pedagogy a tendency to promote dependence as a way of life. Therapeutic modes of thought and practice exempt their object, the patient, from critical judgment and relieve him of moral responsibility. Sickness by definition represents an invasion of the patient by forces outside his conscious control, and the patient’s realistic recognition of the limits of his own responsibility - his acceptance of his diseased and helpless condition - constitutes the first step toward recovery (or permanent invalidism, as the case may be). Therapy labels as sickness what might be judged as weak or willful actions; it thus equips the patient to fight (or resign himself to) the disease, instead of irrationally finding fault with himself. Inappropriately extended beyond the consulting room, however, therapeutic morality encourages a permanent suspension of the moral sense. There is a close connection, in turn, between the erosion of moral responsibility and the waning of the capacity for self-help - in the categories used by John R. Seeley, between the elimination of culpability and the elimination of competence. “What says ‘you are not guilty’ says also ‘you cannot help yourself.’” Therapy legitimates deviance as sickness, but it simultaneously pronounces the patient unfit to manage his own life and delivers him into the hands of a specialist. As therapeutic points of view and practice gain general acceptance, more and more people find themselves disqualified, in effect, from the performance of adult responsibilities and become dependent on some form of medical authority.
The psychological expression of this dependence is narcissism. In its pathological form, narcissism originates as a defense against feelings of helpless dependency in early life, which it tries to counter with “blind optimism” and grandiose illusions of personal self-sufficiency. Since modern society prolongs the experience of dependence into adult life, it encourages milder forms of narcissism in people who might otherwise come to terms with the inescapable limits on their personal freedom and power - limits inherent in the human condition - by developing competence as workers and parents. But at the same time that our society makes it more and more difficult to find satisfaction in love and work, it surrounds the individual with manufactured fantasies of total gratification. The new paternalism preaches not self-denial but self-fulfillment. It sides with narcissistic impulses and discourages their modification by the pleasure of becoming self-reliant, even in a limited domain, which under favorable conditions accompanies maturity. While it encourages grandiose dreams of omnipotence, moreover, the new paternalism undermines more modest fantasies, erodes the capacity to suspend disbelief, and thus makes less and less accessible the harmless substitute-gratifications, notably art and play, that help to mitigate the sense of powerlessness and the fear of dependence that otherwise express themselves in narcissistic traits.
Our society is narcissistic, then, in a double sense. People with narcissistic personalities, although not necessarily more numerous than before, play a conspicuous part in contemporary life, often rising to positions of eminence. Thriving on the adulation of the masses, these celebrities set the tone of public life and of private life as well, since the machinery of celebrity recognizes no boundaries between the public and the private realm. The beautiful people - to use this revealing expression to include not merely wealthy globetrotters but all those who bask, however briefly, in the full glare of the cameras - live out the fantasy of narcissistic success, which consists of nothing more substantial than a wish to be vastly admired, not for one’s accomplishments but simply for oneself, uncritically and without reservation.
Modern capitalist society not only elevates narcissists to prominence, it elicits and reinforces narcissistic traits in everyone. It does this in many ways: by displaying narcissism so prominently and in such attractive forms; by undermining parental authority and thus making it hard for children to grow up; but above all by creating so many varieties of bureaucratic dependence. This dependence, increasingly widespread in a society that is not merely paternalistic but maternalistic as well, makes it increasingly difficult for people to lay to rest the terrors of infancy or to enjoy the consolations of adulthood.
The Conservative Critique of Bureaucracy
Criticism of the new paternalism, insofar as it remains imprisoned in the assumptions of political liberalism, objects to the cost of maintaining a welfare state - the “human cost” as well as the cost to the taxpayers - without criticizing the ascendancy of the managerial and professional class. Another line of attack, which singles out bureaucracy as the overriding evil, arises out of a conservative idealization of old-fashioned individualism. Less equivocal in its opposition to bureaucratic centralization - except when it comes from right-wingers who denounce government regulation of industry and still plead for a gigantic military establishment - the conservative critique of bureaucracy superficially resembles the radical critique outlined in the present study. It deplores the erosion of authority, the corruption of standards in the schools, and the spread of permissiveness. But it refuses to acknowledge the connection between these developments and the rise of monopoly capitalism - between bureaucracy in government and bureaucracy in industry.
“The general historical conflict between individualism and collectivism is dividing mankind into two hostile camps,” wrote Ludwig von Mises in his study of bureaucracy. Capitalist free enterprise, he argued, rests on the rational calculation of profit and loss, whereas bureaucratic management “cannot be checked by economic calculation.” Extended beyond its legitimate domain of law enforcement and national defense, bureaucracy undermines individual initiative and substitutes “government control for free enterprise.” It substitutes the dictatorship of the state for the rule of law. Free-market capitalism, by turning labor into a commodity, “makes the wage earner free from any personal dependence” and detaches “appraisal of each individual’s effort … from any personal considerations.” Bureaucratic collectivism, on the other hand, undermines the “cool rationality and objectivity of capitalist relations” and renders the “plain citizen” dependent on the “professional propagandist of bureaucratization,” who confuses the citizen with his “empty catchwords” and esoteric obfuscation. “Under capitalism everybody is the architect of his own fortune.” But under socialism - and “there is no compromise possible between these two systems,” according to Mises, “no third system” - the “way toward promotion is not achievement but the favor of the superiors.”
This argument suffers from the conservative’s idealization of the personal autonomy made possible by the free market and his willingness to concede enormous war-making powers to the state, so long as they do not interfere with “private” enterprise.” It cannot explain the spread of bureaucracy into industry itself. “The trend toward bureaucratic rigidity is not inherent in the evolution of business,” according to Mises. “It is an outcome of government meddling with business.” Such is his reply to the liberal argument that the inexorable trend toward economic concentration gives rise to a growing gap between ownership and control of the corporation, creates a new managerial elite, and calls into being a centralized state as the only agency capable of controlling it. The liberal analysis itself, however, needs modification. It is not the “divorce between ownership and control” that has created the managerial oligarchy but the divorce between production and planning. Having achieved a complete separation of handwork and brainwork, management monopolizes technical knowledge and reduces the workers to a human machine; but the administration and continual elaboration of this knowledge require an ever-growing managerial apparatus, itself organized on the principles of the factory with its intricate subdivision of tasks. Studies of progressivism and the New Deal have shown that government regulation of business often arose in response to the demands of businessmen themselves. Regulatory agencies draw most of their personnel from business. Neither the regulatory nor the welfare policies of the state rest on “an implacable hatred of private business and free enterprise,” as Mises claims. On the contrary, regulation controls competition and stabilizes the market, while the welfare system socializes the “human costs” of capitalist production - rising unemployment, inadequate wage scales, inadequate insurance against sickness and old age - and helps to forestall more radical solutions.
It is true that a professional elite of doctors, psychiatrists, social scientists, technicians, welfare workers, and civil servants now plays a leading part in the administration of the state and of the “knowledge industry.” But the state and the knowledge industry overlap at so many points with the business corporation (which has increasingly concerned itself with every phase of culture), and the new professionals share so many characteristics with the managers of industry, that the professional elite must be regarded not as an independent class but as a branch of modern management. The therapeutic ethic, which has replaced the nineteenth-century utilitarian ethic, does not serve the “class interest” of professionals alone, as Daniel P. Moynihan and others have argued; it serves the interests of monopoly capitalism as a whole. Moynihan points out that by emphasizing impulse rather than calculation as the determinant of human conduct, and by holding society responsible for the problems confronting individuals, a “government-oriented” professional class has attempted to create a demand for its own services. Professionals, he observes, have a vested interest in discontent, because discontented people turn to professional services for relief. But the same principle underlies all of modern capitalism, which continually tries to create new demands and new discontents that can be assuaged only by the consumption of commodities. Moynihan, aware of this connection, tries to present the professional as the successor to the capitalist. The ideology of “compassion,” he says, serves the class interest of the “post-industrial surplus of functionaries who, in the manner of industrialists who earlier turned to advertising, induce demand for this own products.”
Professional self-aggrandizement, however, grew up side by side with the advertising industry and must be seen as another phase of the same process, the transition from competitive capitalism to monopoly capitalism. The same historical development that turned the citizen into a client transformed the worker from a producer into a consumer. Thus the medical and psychiatric assault on the family as a technologically backward sector went hand in hand with the advertising industry’s drive to convince people that store-brought goods are superior to homemade goods. Both the growth of management and proliferation of professions represent new forms of capitalist control, which first established themselves in the factory and then spread throughout society. The struggle against bureaucracy therefore requires a struggle against capitalism itself. Ordinary citizens cannot resist professional dominance without also asserting control over production and over the technical knowledge on which modern production rests. A reassertion of “common sense,” according to Mises, will “prevent man from falling prey” to the “illusory fantasies” of professional bureaucrats. But common sense is not enough. In order to break the existing pattern of dependence and put an end to the erosion of competence, citizens will have to take the solution of their problems into their own hands. They will have to create their own “communities of competence.” Only then will the productive capacities of modern capitalism, together with the scientific knowledge that now serves it, come to serve the interests of humanity instead.
In a dying culture, narcissism appears to embody - in the guise of personal “growth” and “awareness” - the highest attainment of spiritual enlightenment. The custodians of culture hope, at bottom, merely to survive its collapse. The will to build a better society, however, survives, along with traditions of localism, self-help, and community action that only need the vision of a new society, a decent society, to give them new vigor. The moral discipline formerly associated with the work ethic still retains a value independent of the role it once played in the defense of property rights. That discipline - indispensable to the task of building a new order - endures most of all in those who knew the old order only as a broken promise, yet who took the promise more seriously than those who merely took it for granted.

This question will appear bizarre, but I am trying to get acquainted with pub culture. I see King St W is lit on weekends and just roam on the streets like a kid in a candy store but never had the guts to go inside, especially since I go out alone. I don't have many friends who have the propensity to go to pubs on weekends and meet people. This is even more challenging considering that I don't booze alcohol or even beer, and am also strictly vegan. I am not so fashionable and no one on the streets will throw a second glance at me.
How can I enter these pubs as a single man?
I see huge queues and people wait for half an hour to get in. But some people have tattoos on their arms, which they show to the bouncer and get a wild card entry. What is this tattoo and where do they get it?
Do we have to be dressed up well to get in?
How do we network with the bouncers to get hassle-free entrance?
What good lines convey to them that I am a regular patron and they let me in happily?

The Fightplan series is back, as 2024 has proved a standout year for Ukrainian boxing, as Oleksandr Usyk captured undisputed status at heavyweight and Denys Berinchyk turned a superb boxing display to beatdown Emanuel Navarrete in San Diego to become the 135lbs WBO world champion. But the pick of the performances came for a legend of the amateur game to lay a marker down half way through the year for the performance of 2024 to recapture his own crown at lightweight, that performance coming from the great...
'Hi-Tech' 'The Matrix' Vasyl 'LOMA' Lomachenko
Vasyl Anatolyevich Lomachenko was born 17 February 1988 in the port city of Bilhorod-Dnistrovsky in the Odesa Oblast of South Western Ukraine. He was born into a sports obsessed family, his mother Tetiana a former gymnast turned instructor and his father Anatoly, an obsessed sports fan determined to see his son represent Ukraine in elite sports no matter what the discipline. Initially wanting the young Vasyl to become an ice hockey player, it was when he was taken to the boxing gym that Anatoly spotted the star potential his son possessed. He started training in boxing when he was 5 years old, with his father teaching him to fight as a southpaw despite 'doing everything with his right hand' which he believed would give him an advantage, as well as taking him to traditional dance classes and gymnastics lessons to help improve his balance, core strength, co-ordination and timing. His first amateur success would come at 16 years old, when Vasyl won the 2004 European Cadet Championships gold medal at 101 lbs. He took 8 months out from competing at competitions due to a growth spurt, but returned to claim a silver medal at the 2007 world championship at 125lbs, as well as winning gold at a nationwide Klitschko brothers tournament and at the Senior European Championships a year later at the same weight. Between 2008 to 2011, Lomachenko won 4 consecutive gold medals at the National Championships, as well as the 2010 Presidents Cup, and of course most notably, his success capturing the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games where Lomachenko also won the Val Barker Trophy for 'The Most Outstanding Boxer' at the games, before capturing another Olympic Gold medal at the London Games in 2012.
Now having competed at 132lbs for the last 4 years as an amateur, Lomachenko finished his amateur career with a staggering 395-1 record, having lost by just one point to Russian Albert Selimov, who he'd go on to beat twice, as well as holding amateur victories over notable fighters such as Félix Verdejo, José Carlos Ramírez, Óscar Valdez and Robson Conceição.
After his success at the 2013 World Series of Boxing, Lomachenko turned over to the pro game with big ambitious, with the goal to win a world title on his professional debut, and would only accept a deal on those conditions. After exhausting all options, Top Rank signed him to a deal where he could box in his second pro fight for the vacant WBO featherweight title which victory of 25-3 over José Luis Ramírez who he beat on his debut over 4 round for the WBO International title, securing his world title shot. This would come against 55 fight veteran with 41 wins, Orlando Salido, in a highly controversial bout with Salido missing weight by over 3lbs and no less than 52 low blows and repeated headbutts throughout from the Mexican ,who had rehydrated to over 147lbs, without any warning from the referee. Salido would win by split decision, in controversial fashion having only outlanded Lomachenko in one of the twelve rounds, with the broadcast team adding insult to injury with a patronising 'Welcome to professional boxing!' message to Lomachenko. Defiantly, Lomachenko would go on to capture the same title in his next fight, outworking the highly skilled and blisteringly fast enigma of Gary Russell Jr., before defending in a shutout win over 51-1 Thai Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo, not dropping a round despite an injury forcing him to box in final 5 rounds with just his right hand. The next years would be frustrating for Lomachenko, failing to get unifications with the other champions not wanting to risk losing to the elite champion with such little pro experience, as Lomachenko became disillusioned at being offered 'not interesting' match ups. Despite this, he'd carry on defending his title twice more before his knockout of the year contender as he knocked out Roman 'Rocky' Martinez in the 5th round with a vicious left uppercut and right hook combo, where he won the WBO world title at Super Featherweight. This would spark the beginning of his most dominant run of performances, resulting in 4 straight retirement victories at over Nicolas Walters, Jason Sosa, Miguel Marriaga and his schooling over an unbeaten Guillermo Rigondeaux, giving birth to his 'No-Mas Chenko' moniker.
Lomachenko then moved to his third weight class where he'd face the 44-3 WBA world champion Jorge Linares, over coming slight adversity for the first time, after a his first and only ever knockdown in round 6, Lomachenko would rally back to overwhelm Linares with relentless pressure and non stop flurries of punching culminating in a round 10 stoppage, become a 3 weight world champion in a record time of just 12 pro fights. His next matchup would be his first unification bout against the WBO champion Jose Pedraza, winning a one sided decision and twice dropping the champion, he'd make two defences of his titles over former world champion Anthony Crolla, battering him and twice dropping him inside 4 rounds, and coming out on top with an impressive display over former Olympic Gold medalist Luke Campbell, where Lomachenko picked up vacant the WBC world title, before being controversially elevated to 'franchise champion' and not being recognised as the official belt holder amongst the other sanctioning bodies.
Despite this, Top Rank moved quick to make one of the few super fights during the global pandemic, with a much anticipated bout in what was essentially an undisputed bout against IBF champion Teofimo Lopez following his statement win over Richard Commey. Despite his lack of experience at world level, Lopez boxed disciplined throughout using his clear power and athletic advantage to keep Lomachenko backed up and tentative to throw shots, and while Lomachenko had success in the second half of the fight, he lost a clear decision, many questioning his desire and motivation to continue in the sport. Lomachenko responded by choosing to face 2 Lopez inspired opponents, Masayoshi Nakatani, who gave Lopez his toughest matchup, who he stopped in 9 rounds and his world title opponent Richard Commey to make a statement of one upmanship to Lopez. After a lacklustre performance in a bad style matchup against Jamaine Ortiz, he go on to officially fight for undisputed honours over young talent Devin Haney, who had controversially become WBC world champion after Lomachenko had been elevated to the now mothballed franchise status. The fight was a close one throughout with plenty of swing rounds, with their stylistic differences leading to many debated scores online, but in the end Devin Haney won a much debated decision working behind the jab and landing telling body shots to make the difference over Lomachenko's aggression and output. But with Lomachenko standing intact and possibly even enhanced with his performance over Haney he performed another masterful display of one upmanship on both Haney and Lopez's former opponent George Kambosos Jr. with a punch perfect display, allowing Kambosos to land just 11% of his punches before stopping him in the 11th round, capturing the IBO and the vacant IBF world titles now as a two time lightweight world champion, with a 18-3 record with 12 knockouts and 7 victories over current, former or future world champions.
The Matrix
A masterful technician, while he certainly is by no means a flawless fighter, his amateur and professional success can not be denied with elite performances of world level opponents in almost every fight he's taken. his record may be looked on with revisionist eyes in future years, but Lomachenko has not been afraid to step up against younger and much bigger opponents with a similar talent level, even for his supreme talent an undefeated record would be invariably hard to maintain. Nevertheless, some of his greatest wins alone show peak levels scaled by Lomachenko, scaling the summit of weight classes on numerous occasions and making elite fighters look levels apart in his prime. With his elite levels footwork, creating of angles, dynamic reflexes and supreme timing with his own unique tricks of the trade sprinkled in, it will be interesting to see the future trajectory of the 36 year old Hall of Fame shoo in.
Fightplan
Core tactic Preferred range Mid range Primary mentality Aggressive Crisis mentality Reactive Advantage mentality Aggressive
Operating often with a size disadvantage, and very regularly with a reach disadvantage, Loma is an aggressive high output, high movement based fighter that operates best at mid to close range. Like Chocolatito, his lead hand is his key weapon but crucially for Loma it's often his dominant right hand from the southpaw stance. This where he generates the vast majority of his offensive, but will frequently stance switch either to break distance or maintain distance to or from his opponent, in a similar, but much more refined way to that of Teofimo Lopez. He's happy to hold his feet, but only if he's confident he's in an advantageous position to landed more punches than his opponent, otherwise he will pivot out, retreat with a high guard or look to slip-counter while advancing forward to maintain pressure and offensive. His lead hand is crucial as it allows him to be busy while not loading up on big power shots that expend energy, and his constant movement and changing of pace and offensive make him a nightmare to read, to land on and more important to match his work rate when 'The Matrix' is in full flow. Possessing high footwork, reflexes, agility, dexterity and hand speed will be vital in trying to replicate Loma's combinations, movements and offensive output in Leather while utilising good head and upper body movement with the added bonus pf guarding to say defensively alert and able to counter whilst fight aggressively
Long range tactic Heavily favour lead hand Medium work rate Ultra High combinations Follow up Approach/Wait Countermeasures Cover up/ Retreat
Often on the edge of long to mid range, Lomachenko has an extremely active jab, mostly used to back up his opponent or manipulate their guard to find openings. Often being the shorter man means his double or triple jabs are crucial to breaking range while also keeping his opponent occupied, but he's also happy to wait if he he can get a read on his opponent and find an opening he can exploit or to time their rhythm as he darts inside. Defensively, Lomachenko is less active preferring to ride out attacks in a high guard before responding with a better combination, or changing angle or distance to find an advantageous position.
Mid range tactic Favour lead hand Low work rate Medium combinations Follow up Wait/Approach Countermeasures Retreat/Counterpunch
Mid range is where you often see a calculated thinking fighter approach as Lomachenko looks to get a read on his opponent. He will often hold his hands low to bait an opponent into throwing and looking to change distance or angle before almost instantaneously throwing back once he finds how to best exploit the opening. He uses his head and upper body movement as he looks to work off and slip his opponent's jab to catch his opponent whilst they are defensively vulnerable. He uses his 'Matrix shuffle' to step outside and uses lateral shifts to change direction and confused his opponent and his often frame with his lead hand to either knock his opponent off balance or blind their vision and he steps off at an angle, make his movements extremely difficult to read and hard to pick up where he is all while putting himself in a dominant offensive position.
Close range Heavily favour lead hand Medium work rate High combinations Follow up Retreat/Wait Countermeasures Counterpunch/Retreat
At close range, Lomachenko will sense he's in an advantageous position and look to put together his punches in bunches off his lead right hand. He has a wicked uppercut that when he finds the range can be a vicious weapon as he's demonstrated on many occasions, particularly against Crolla, and a very effective lead right hook he will often counter with which is a lethal weapon as his hook will often land first up close, before taking a half step back to follow up with a combination and make it harder for his opponent to land. While he can be hittable up close, his work rate makes sure he's able to outlandish his opponent and his use of movement makes him less of a stationary target to be caught with a shot, but mostly, Lomachenko will be pressing to find openings as he moves rounds to target for angles to attack and capitalise on his success.
Thanks for everyone taking the time to continue supporting this series, and for all the new readers, I hope you can find my writings useful in building fightplans in Leather boxing manager and keep out my previous pieces below. Enjoy boxing in this great period for the sport and all success in every you do. TEEKAY
Video credits
https://youtu.be/eg24htCdBeA?si=jEpoTSPTD1N8XSto https://youtu.be/-NevXzAtXNY?si=U07r-ijKh26VQbK2 https://youtu.be/-NevXzAtXNY?si=pgCpqNsih67Ik_2u https://youtu.be/ApvDF65n-e0?si=AdGuNqtxKz0ZVi7J https://youtu.be/_nuH0NLnYzs?si=rkrKnYJiaunx9JSH
The Fightplan series
The Thinking Fighter https://www.reddit.com/LeatherTheGame/comments/mlmckn/the_thinking_fighter_gameplan/
The Thinking Fighter 2.0 https://www.reddit.com/LeatherTheGame/comments/mmc9z3/the_thinking_fighter_20_tactical_inside_boxing/
Moves like Junior (Roy Jones Jr.) https://www.reddit.com/LeatherTheGame/comments/mpog3f/roy_jones_jr_gameplan/
The Kings of the Counters https://www.reddit.com/LeatherTheGame/comments/mq9zvo/the_kings_of_the_counters_countering_with/
The Magical Manny (Manny Pacquiao Machine Gun) https://www.reddit.com/LeatherTheGame/comments/mx3kjh/the_magical_manny_aggressive_defence_intricate/
Sweet Little Chocolate (Chocolatito) https://www.reddit.com/LeatherTheGame/comments/n0n1jc/sweet_little_chocolate_effective_aggression/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
Rigo's Rhythm (Rigondeaux)
https://www.reddit.com/LeatherTheGame/comments/n3dvoq/rigos_rhythm_staying_elusive_countering_with/
Magnificent Marvelous Master (Hagler)
https://www.reddit.com/LeatherTheGame/comments/n530c
Cinnamon Superstar (Canelo)
https://www.reddit.com/LeatherTheGame/comments/n786r1/canelo_fightplan/
The Spoiler https://www.reddit.com/LeatherTheGame/comments/neezv9/the_boxerspoiler_fightplan_shutting_down_offence/ The GOAT of Boxing (Sugar Ray Robinson) https://www.reddit.com/LeatherTheGame/comments/nfb6fx/sugar_ray_robinson_fightplan_the_goat_of_boxing/
Golden Oscar Winner (de la Hoya) https://www.reddit.com/LeatherTheGame/comments/npb9sn/golden_oscar_winner_expert_outboxing_cunning/
Body Hunting Monster (Naoya Inoue) https://www.reddit.com/LeatherTheGame/comments/o4eukc/body_hunting_monster_crippling_body_punches/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
Xu Can https://www.reddit.com/LeatherTheGame/comments/o8lqn4/what_xu_can_do_speed_and_work_rate_kills/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
The Kronk Style https://www.reddit.com/LeatherTheGame/comments/oc01wa/kronk_it_up_the_art_of_technical_aggression/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
Julio Cesar Martinez https://www.reddit.com/LeatherTheGame/comments/p5pee2/julio_cesar_martinez_the_little_mexican_firebrand/
Floyd Mayweather
https://www.reddit.com/LeatherTheGame/comments/q7ci77/flawless_floyd_the_genius_ogf_mayweather_behind/
Khaosai https://www.reddit.com/LeatherTheGame/comments/qngzvk/the_real_life_jimmy_sisphar_the_secrets_behind/
Usyk https://www.reddit.com/LeatherTheGame/comments/rtt5sd/countering_with_movement_effective_outboxing/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share with
Dmitry Dictates the Distance (Bivol) https://www.reddit.com/LeatherTheGame/comments/x94pjl/dmitry_dictates_the_distance_an_in_depth_look_at/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Golden Global Great (GGG - Golovkin) https://www.reddit.com/LeatherTheGame/comments/yytuag/golden_global_great_the_boxing_skills_of_one_of/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Beterbiev https://www.reddit.com/LeatherTheGame/comments/10mwljz/you_beterbelieve_in_artur_the_skills_behind_the/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Wilder Rangy Slugging https://www.reddit.com/LeatherTheGame/comments/10s00f2/deontay_wilder_rangy_slugging_beware_of_the_right/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
(Shakur) Stevenson Steals The Show https://www.reddit.com/LeatherTheGame/comments/11kl2vo/stevenson_steals_the_show_the_fluid_boxing_skills/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Teraji https://www.reddit.com/LeatherTheGame/comments/11upcc7/comment/jcrp9v4/
Junto Nakatani https://www.reddit.com/LeatherTheGame/comments/13l1hw8/junto_nakatani_young_japanese_phenom_the/
AJ (Joshua) https://www.reddit.com/LeatherTheGame/comments/1beqzts/comment/kww65s8/
Mini Monster (Ginjiro Shigeoka) https://www.reddit.com/LeatherTheGame/comments/1btyvbc/ginjiro_shigeoka_mini_monster_the_105lbs_ibf/?onetap_auto=true&one_tap=true

So this scam happened to my mom and she’s so upset about it that I don’t know all the details because she didn’t want to talk about it. She had a flight booked on ITA airways in premium economy and for some reason they changed her flight and downgraded her to regular economy. She called the legitimate ITA airways call center about 5 times and each time they told her they needed to escalate to supervisor and that someone would call back. Well someone finally did call back that said they were from ITA airways and they were going to help correct her ticket. They needed her to download an app and give her banking information to test a transfer. She said something about NALA app and being contacted by WhatsApp. I have no idea how much was stolen from her because she didn’t want to talk about it. Her bank said the money was gone and they couldn’t do anything about it. Anyways she feels stupid for falling for the scam and takes full responsibility for it. However, it’s really frustrating because if ITA didn’t screw up her ticket and fixed the issue in the first place this wouldn’t have happened. Clearly someone in their customer call center is providing customer info to scammers. Is there any recourse to take with ITA? Her ticket is still not fixed after over 2 weeks and now she’s out of I don’t know how much money.

This question will appear bizarre, but I am trying to get acquainted with pub culture. I see a part of the city in toronto is lit on weekends and just roam on the streets like a kid in a candy store but never had the guts to go inside, especially since I go out alone. I don't have many friends who have the propensity to go to pubs on weekends and meet people. This is even more challenging considering that I don't booze alcohol or even beer, and am also strictly vegan. I am not so fashionable and no one on the streets will throw a second glance at me.
How can I enter these pubs as a single man?
I see huge queues and people wait for half an hour to get in. But some people have tattoos on their arms, which they show to the bouncer and get a wild card entry. What is this tattoo and where do they get it?
Do we have to be dressed up well to get in?
How do we network with the bouncers to get hassle-free entrance?
What good lines convey to them that I am a regular patron and they let me in happily?