What Are You Doing Now?

[IceMaiden]

Bertie - some heaters cut out if knocked over which might be an idea with two kittens! Might give you some more peace of mind! Otherwise I think I would be tempted to either switch it off when I wasn't there or take it away each time. Another option I've just remembered is a greenhouse heater. I had one of those too and for a small space like a shed it was quite effective. They're a long metal cylinder with brackets which you can screw securely to a wall so can't be knocked over at all. They do get pretty warm so I made a cover out of mesh as a guard to prevent the rabbits touching it directly and it worked fine. Just make sure either not to cut the mesh or file it really well afterwards, the stuff is like a berberis plant when cut .

Lenoir - try ImgBB. It's what I use now that TinyPic is gone.

[Bertie]

Thanks, IceMaiden. That's all good advice. I've been having a good look trying to work out which would be best - weighing up size, cost, heat, safety, etc. Currently, I'm thinking one that I can take away each time (for peace of mind), but I'll have another look tomorrow with what you say in mind.

[Boatbuilder]

So very sad to have just read this. At least, he is at peace at last. RIP

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-67742004

[IceMaiden]

Been on YouTube and there's loads of videos about how countries are at war, scare stories from what's going on in the middle east and that Britain is preparing to go to war with Russia.. How are these allowed to be posted? I'm not even sure if they're click-bait or real but they're enough to really worry and frighten people. I think of myself as fairly level headed and tend to dismiss things or take them with a very large dose of salt but I'll admit they make me feel rather anxious so goodness knows what they do to someone with a fragile state of mind.

[Boatbuilder]

I don't know how old the videos are that you saw, Icemaiden, but when things like this are reported on our news today, it opens the floodgates for all sorts of propaganda and the like. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68086188

[IceMaiden]

They're recent! As in posted yesterday or today, some even said posted hours ago. There's no mention of any of it on the main news so how are such alarming videos allowed to be posted on YouTube if they aren't true?

[Boatbuilder]

In that case, they were probably posted, as as a result of the comments made by the person referred to in that news article.

[Wolfgang]

Freedom of speech - Youtube isn't obliged to check content before it's published. Otherwise we had censorship. Only after complaints about content violating laws the're checking and removing things eventually.
If everybody was obliged to tell the truth and could be prosecuted if it didn't do that, I suppose prisons were absolutely overcrowded. And desinformation has become an instrument in politcs as well. And there are many cases in which people are threatened, killed or otherwised terrorized because they told the truth.

[Courtenay]

There's no mention of any of it on the main news so how are such alarming videos allowed to be posted on YouTube if they aren't true?

As Wolfgang says, YouTube doesn't moderate content before it's posted. Which is why you can also find plenty of videos there "proving" that the world is flat, that the moon landings were faked, that COVID was a hoax and the vaccines killed millions of people, that aeroplanes are spraying chemicals in the atmosphere to manipulate the weather or to control our minds, that various world leaders are actually lizard people in disguise, or whatever...

I'm also concerned about the effects these scaremongering ideas and theories have on people, but when it comes to the current world situation, I just keep myself calm by remembering that the world has been through worse things in the past century. The Cold War was over before I was old enough to know anything about it, but that's one thing that, at almost any time over several decades, could have led to the destruction of all humankind (possibly of all life on this planet), and it didn't. World War 2 itself was a conflict on a scale that those of us who were born decades afterwards can't really comprehend, and all through it there was no guarantee of what the ending would be. But it did end, and we're still here. None of that proves anything about how a future war might play out, but it does show that — as big a cliche as this is — while there's life there's hope. And meanwhile, I figure, if I let myself worry too much about all the disconcerting things going on in the world, I'll only end up paralysing myself with fear, which won't do anything to help anyone. That's how I'm dealing with it all, anyway.

[Anita Bensoussane]

I must admit I've never even thought of looking for news items on YouTube. I mainly use it to access old songs and vintage TV shows. My daughter and son have used YouTube for other things (guitar lessons, dance classes, chess tutorials, maths and science lectures...) but they've never mentioned seeing news items either. From what you say, IceMaiden, it doesn't sound as though we've missed anything!

[Katharine]

Last term the course I'm on spent a few weeks studying streaming platforms and also whether the TV licence fee is fair.

I was fascinated to discover that many of the students use YouTube for their news, and rarely/never watch the news on mainstream TV.

It definitely seemed to run along the lines of age though, as the older members of the class mainly used YouTube for nostalgia purpose, ie old songs, videos etc. or for practical purposes such as how to fix a leaky tap, or looking up instructions of how to programme their oven timers etc.

[Courtenay]

That's actually downright scary, if increasing numbers of young people are getting most or all of their "news" from YouTube, and little or nothing from mainstream news sources. When I was at university 15-20 years ago, we were still all taught to CHECK YOUR SOURCES and make absolutely sure you knew where information was coming from — who produced it, for what purposes, and what their biases or agendas were likely to be — before deciding whether or not to trust that information or use it as a source in an assignment. But now it seems there are so many conspiracy theories and extremist ideologies — both on the far right and far left of politics — that more and more people are throwing mainstream sources aside and sticking with the ones that say what they want to hear. It is very disconcerting, to say the least.

[Wolfgang]

About authenticity of material, with deep fake technology it becomes harder and harder to distinguish between an original source and a faked one.
Mainstream news sources - can it be guaranteed that they're impartial and give all information available? I sometimes have the feeling that not all necessary information is delivered. And I'm afraid that (too) many people are not really interested in getting all necessary information, they only want to have the ones supporting their course.

[Anita Bensoussane]

About eight months ago BBC News introduced "BBC Verify", where they confirm that they have checked facts and verified video footage relating to stories they're broadcasting. The same thing may apply to other news channels as well, but I don't have time to watch any others. Even if a broadcaster has verified certain aspects of a story, that doesn't mean that they won't be biased in what they transmit, of course!

I find that newspaper articles often go into more depth. I have a subscription to The Telegraph through a friend, but some newspapers can be accessed online free of charge. The Guardian and The Daily Mail can be read in full, and it's also possible to read a limited number of articles from other publications. It can be useful to look at the same story as presented by different papers. Also, if an article refers to a particular document (e.g. a piece of medical research), sometimes the document is available to read in full online.

People who speak multiple languages will have numerous sources available to them, of course - providing they have the time to read/listen to them and compare them on a regular basis!

[IceMaiden]

That's quite frightening if these videos on YouTube are what younger people are watching as news. I only saw a minute or so and it was enough to make me feel (if only fleetingly!) decisively worried if we were all going to just disappear in an explosion or something! I never actually watch YouTube for news by the way, I use it for old songs, shows and art how to's, but this video came up on the home page and once you click on a video you get lots of similar ones recommended. Another thing I've seen on it (and I think this is appalling and definitely shouldn't be allowed) is videos saying famous people have died when they are alive and well. That is really sick and twisted, I can't believe anyone would joke about/make up something like that.